


Seeking an End

by Rosebud1773



Series: Welcome to the Snark Side: A Shakarian Trip [4]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dreams and Nightmares, Epic Battles, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Interspecies Sex, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:02:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 95
Words: 173,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23282959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosebud1773/pseuds/Rosebud1773
Summary: We're in this together, all of us. In the end, we're all that stands between the Reapers and annihilation. Petty differences of culture and race mean nothing in the face of galactic destruction. I'll forge this galaxywide alliance whether you like it or not. You stand with me or you fall with the Reapers. Your choice.- Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, Spectre.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Series: Welcome to the Snark Side: A Shakarian Trip [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595116
Comments: 932
Kudos: 113





	1. Daunting Revelations

“Find anything we can use on this mission, Liara?” Shepard asked as she held onto the personnel strap above her. She was still not entirely happy that Grunt had been unable to accompany them. He had remained on the Citadel and was being treated for that 'bug bite' on the hospital level. No one had thought to inform the commander.

“I did, but... I now understand why High Commander wanted to hide the information.” Liara looked up at her from her seat an unreadable expression on her face. “We're heading to an Ardat-Yakshi Monastery.”

“Ardat-Yakshi? Like Morinth?” Shepard asked as she recalled Samara's eldest daughter. She remembered how dangerous that woman had been. _A whole monastery of them... how much worse might this be if the Reapers are already here?_

Liara looked away before continuing. “Morinth chose to be a killer. These Ardat-Yakshi isolated themselves to avoid that. But it doesn't mean they're harmless. Their urge to feed can be powerful. That's why High Commander sent in commandos to investigate the monastery's distress signal.”

“So what does Asari High Commander want _us_ to do?” Garrus asked sounding highly skeptical of their reasons for being there. His sub-harmonics seemed to be saying so much more than his spoken words.

Shepard knew there was more in his tones than he was saying. The longer she was with him, the more she picked up on those tones. She was beginning to suspect her cybernetics were enhancing her hearing to detect those sub-harmonic frequencies. One day soon, she would have to put that theory to the test.

“If there was a chance the Ardat-Yakshi could break loose, the commandos were to purge the monastery.” Liara answered his question coolly.

“Purge? You mean destroy?” Shepard speculated.

“Would they really do that to their own people?” Garrus asked a little shocked.

Liara glanced between the two of them. “Yes. They would've brought heavy explosives with them for just such a scenario.”

“Morinth was dangerous, but are the Ardat-Yakshi this big of a threat?” Shepard tilted her head to the side as she asked.

“Morinth was just hitting her stride. Ardat-Yakshi who kill leave behind _astronomical_ body counts. It's why they can never be free... and why they're such a _great_ source of shame to the asari.” Liara paused, leaning forward a fraction. Her face could have been cast in stone when she continued. “Asari High Command will never risk a single Ardat-Yakshi getting loose.”

“Can't really blame them for being cautious.” Garrus commented, his eyes locked to Shepard.

Grudgingly, she nodded. She thought there was a good chance they would be forced to blow the monastery. “We'll see how this plays out. I'm not wiping out another colony without a damn good reason.”

“Any idea who sent the distress call?” Garrus asked.

“I have an idea, but we'll find out for sure soon enough.” Shepard stated as she readied her pistol. She expected this to be another of those long hard missions with some new nightmare around the next corner.

The moment the shuttle was low enough, she was out the hatch. The architecture was the first thing to strike her. Beautiful though it was, it somehow reminded her of the Citadel. She supposed there was a good reason for that. The asari had been the first to discover the station, after all. The shuttle took off as they gained safe distance. She watched Garrus draw near a conveyance sitting near the monastery's entrance. He touched the frame of his visor near the lens a couple of times and glanced back at her.

“My visor's IR says this shuttle's warm.” he speculated as he stepped away from the car. “Recent visitor?”

“Let's hope they're friendly.” Shepard nodded as she headed for the sealed entrance.

“Elevator's disabled.” Liara stated the obvious as the main doors opened under Shepard's touch.

Garrus stepped forward and braced his hands on either side of the door looking the elevator shaft up and down. His visor was clearly scanning for traps. “Did they disable it to prevent entry... or escape?”

Looking his way as he backed up from the edge, Shepard asked. “Anything?”

“Looks clear.” he said, glancing her way before hopping over to the platform at the back of the shaft.

“You make that look so easy.” Shepard grumbled at her turian before following him.

“Apex predator, evolved to run down prey under harsh conditions... What can I say?” he snarked with a shrug as he made sure she managed the jump without toppling off backwards.

“Uh-huh...” Shepard smiled at him as she headed for the ladder.

Liara landed on the metal scaffolding with a hard thump and Garrus steadied her. Shepard grabbed the top of the ladder and pivoted to slide down it. She hit the next level of metal grating solidly and kicked on her flashlight. The scream that wailed up at her from below nearly froze her blood in her veins.

“That sound...” Liara said quietly as she joined the commander, looking around almost wildly.

“Sounds like more than one of them out there.” Garrus commented as his larger feet hit the grating with a rattling thud.

The turian scanned the darkened room outside the elevator shaft with his visor before hopping over to the floor beyond. He stepped to the side and waited for his bondmate and the asari to join him. The moment she made the jump, Shepard moved off to her left. Her flashlight panned slowly over the area before her as she walked along cautiously. The rattle of something rolling across the floor froze her in place.

“What was that?” Liara squeaked.

“Crap... That was me, sorry.” Garrus whispered as he stopped the glass rolling across the floor with a foot.

Shepard's tiny thrill of fear turned to a half-open mouthed smile at him as she rolled her eyes and let out a breath. Her grumble was almost a relieved laugh. “Have I told you lately you have some big feet?”

“Hmmm... not lately, but... I don't hear you complaining about the benefits of 'big feet'.” he snarked.

“God save me from conceited turians.” Shepard breathed as she entered the pitch black room before her.

The room looked like a kind of dorm room, or had before someone had completely torn it apart. Shelving units were pulled over on top of each other, all manner of debris littered the floor and one of the bunks was shoved against the far wall at an odd angle. Beyond a single pistol clip, there was nothing much of interest in that room save the wreckage.

Doubling back, Shepard headed for the darker outlines of a long table and chairs. Her flashlight lit them as she moved closer. Garrus and Liara fanned out to examine a few things around the big room. Among the debris on the table, there was a single intact data pad. When she hit the message button a recording began. Someone chattering excitedly about a copy of Vaenia that had been smuggled in.

“Sounds like movie night was interrupted.” Garrus commented as he stopped at her shoulder.

“Seems so.” Shepard agreed as she moved off around the table.

There was an announcement wall on the other side of the table. She meant to have a look at that. Shining her flashlight across it, she read the notice on the board. Matriarch Gallae sounded like a tyrant. The whole place was designed to keep the Ardat-Yakshi isolated, but if she knew anything about isolation, it was that perpetual isolation never worked for long.

The screams came again, closer this time, as she moved off toward another doorway. She closed her eyes at the implications. They did not sound like the screams of someone being tortured and killed. Those were the screams of an animal frustrated that its prey was out of reach. _And we're the prey_. Of that, Shepard had no doubts.

The sound of Garrus' grumble drew her back out of the room and she headed for his tall, bulky form. She drew up short at the sight illuminated by his flashlight beam; a Ravager. He nearly snarled the words as he examined the carcass. “ _Reapers_. Looks like we know why the commando teams went silent.”

“This monastery's out of the way. What do the Reapers want with Ardat-Yakshi?” the answer to the question was something Shepard almost dreaded finding. She had an idea, but refused to examine it too closely. Her eyes caught the flash of light from Liara's direction and she noticed the data pad. “Anything useful?”

“The bomb is in the Great Hall. The floorplan is marked with a NavPoint.” Liara answered.

“At least it's no surprise nuke on Tuchanka, but the commandos want this place gone pretty badly.” Garrus said, still sounding a little salty over the bomb that had been hidden on the krogan homeworld for over a thousand years.

In many ways, Shepard could not blame him. His societal rank within the Hierarchy should have made him privy to that information. Looking over the markings he had asked her to add to his face, she knew he was pretty high up that ranking system. _Praetor... I really don't know what that rank really means for him... or for me as his bondmate._

“This place is a lost cause if it's already crawlin' with Reapers.” Shaking herself out of that line of thought, she looked toward the unevenly closed door they were facing with a frown. Walking forward, she flicked the safety off her pistol. “Let's get to the Great Hall...”

Shepard looked around the short corridor as they headed for the door. It was obvious that door was not going to open. Her flashlight panned to the right and highlighted another door on the other side of a planter in far worse condition. When she panned to the left, she saw what might be their only way out of the room. She vaulted over the planter and headed for it. After a couple of taps on the holo-lock and a hissing sound, the door slid open.

It opened on a walkway with a towering wall of glass facing them. She stepped toward that glass and looked out on courtyard of some type. Under different circumstances she would have considered it beautiful, perhaps peaceful. Right now, it looked like just so many more places for Reaper-spawn to hide. With so much light pouring in even through the snow storm brewing outside, there was no more need for the flashlights. She clicked hers off and tucked it into a pouch at her hip.

Looking down the corridor to her left, she realized the door down there was going to be a no-go. The holo-lock was completely inactive, meaning the door was inaccessible. The one on her right looked much more promising even if it was locked down. She locked eyes with Garrus and nodded. He took the silent request up without hesitation and jogged forward to begin working on a bypass for the lock. She and Liara continued to scan the corridor for obvious threats.

 _Not many places to hide here, but.._. The thought trailed off as the door opened before the skillful turian. Shepard took point and stepped out onto a balcony of sorts. It overlooked a larger room that sported a stunning view of that courtyard. She heard it before she saw it, a Cannibal and a biotic blast. Her eyes darted toward the source.

“Very good. I almost didn't hear you.” Samara said calmly as she stepped over the Cannibal's corpse.

“Samara?” Shepard asked, stowing her pistol in its holster. Another sound just beyond the woman drew her attention and her eyes widened as the other asari kicked the Cannibal's corpse. “Nana?”

“It has been some time, Shepard. You are a most welcome sight. The corruption here runs deep.” Samara said formally.

“Uh, _goddess!_ Cut the cryptically formal crap, Sam!” Nana growled at the woman and earned a glare in response.

“What brings _two_ Justicars out here?” Garrus asked as he stepped forward and braced his hand son the railing.

“Two of my daughters have lived here for centuries, Garrus. I've come for them.” Samara looked back up at the turian and answered.

“ _Our_ daughters, girl. You never seem to _remember.... I_ had a little somethin' to do with that.” Nana snapped at her quietly. She was just loud enough that Shepard and her team heard her, however.

“Unfortunately, the Reapers had already infested this place by the time I – we... arrived.” Samara corrected herself as she glanced at Nana who had finally stopped beside her.

“You've got to be kidding me...” Garrus sighed softly and rubbed his plated brow as it clearly struck him what Nana had just said.

“Are your other daughters just as dangerous as Morinth?” Shepard did not miss a beat. She would ask Nana about her role in all this once they had a moment.

“My girls aren't dangerous, Shepard, dear. Rila has been a hall warden for decades and Falere... That dear child has always been an artist.” Nana overrode anything Samara had been about to say.

Samara narrowed her eyes at Nana before returning her attention to Shepard. “They have _followed_ the monastery's rules since they arrived. Neither has shown any inclination toward violence.”

“And you're here to save them...” Shepard stated suspiciously as she paced a few steps along the railing.

When Samara bowed her head, it was all too clear what she meant to do. “They are my responsibility and it is one I cannot abandon even as our galaxy crumbles.”

“ _You_ said you meant to ensure our girls weren't taken by the _Reapers_...” Nana stepped in front of the taller asari and glared up at her.

“And I meant it, Natearus, by any means necessary.” Samara said coldly.

“We'll team up. Maybe your daughters can tell us hit this place.” Shepard suggested.

Samara turned and headed for the other side of the room, presumably a door. She spoke as she walked. “I suspect they will have much to tell us. It has been centuries since I last saw them.”

“And who's fault is that?” Nana barked at the taller woman's retreating form.

“We're out of time.” Samara glanced back over her shoulder at them all as the scream of... something... came again. She enveloped herself in biotic power and stomped off toward a door near the foot of the balcony. “We'll meet again. I will draw these creatures off.”

“Like hell you will alone, Sam!” Nana barked and started toward her.

“Go with Shepard, Tear... please...” Samara almost sounded as if she were begging the other asari before she turned and stormed off.

Shepard watched the other storm off as Nana stood her ground with balled fists. Biotic energy glowed around her as well. To the commander, it felt like angry energy.

“We might have to blow this place, after all.” Garrus said quietly as he drew up beside her.

“I know.” Shepard acknowledged. She was still chewing hard on the idea that Nana had once been Samara's mate. Two of the Ardat-Yakshi living at the monastery where Nana's daughters. She wondered if Morinth had been her daughter as well. _Could there be others? Will I be forced to kill more of my foster mother's children? God, what am I supposed to do with that?_


	2. Bloodlines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nana reveals some serious skills as well as a damning truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on to your butts... Nana took the wheel.

Nana glared after Samara's retreating form and shook her head angrily. Her attention snapped back to Shepard and her team when the commander barked an order. No time for regret or resentment now, she knew. That would come later, when this was all over. Plenty of time then. Time enough to tear Samara a new one or to mourn. It still remained to be seen which she would be doing. She knew there was a very good chance she would be doing neither. Death might claim her this day.

“My name is Tashya Porae..... I'm wounded..... Bad.” came the recorded voice from the data pad near a dead asari. “Give this to my bondmate, Weshra. Asked her to go to the Citadel... And... Tell Weshra I love her... Tell her... sorry we fought. I was an idiot. Didn't mean any of it, Weshra. Want... want you to have everything of mine, ok? Love you... I love you so – ”

Garrus shook his head as he knelt beside the body. He tapped the frame of his visor lightly before picking up the data pad and tucking into a compartment in his armor. “Dead. Bled out trying to bind a thigh wound...”

“We're not getting through this door. Disabled, same as the one in the last corridor.” Shepard glanced up at the door beyond the body.

“The door back the other way is still working. It'll take us down to the ground floor.” Nana pointed back the other way.

“Then that's where we'll go.” Shepard nodded and headed back the other way at a quick pace.

The moment the door opened before them, Shepard cautiously stepped through and looked around. Liara poked her nose into the room right after her. Nana wanted to growl at her for continuing to pine after the girl, but she held her tongue. Glancing at the turian, she knew he would say something if he decided to be bothered by it. Clearly he was either oblivious to it or it simply had not rubbed him the wrong way yet.

“It's too quiet. Are there _any_ survivors?” Liara whispered as they all stepped over the threshold of the room in pairs.

“This fight didn't last long, by the look of it.” Shepard answered after looking around the room for a moment.

“No... It wouldn't. This monastery only had a few guards to protect it, not an army.” Liara snapped.

“Shouldn't have needed more than a few guards. Most of the girls here were powerful biotics... aside from being Ardat-Yakshi.” Nana growled and glared at for a moment before reminding herself the girl was not at fault here. “But you wouldn't know that, would you, child?”

Shepard stepped over to the railing and looked down at the courtyard below. 'Room' had not quite been the right word for this area. True, there was seating and terminals, but all of those were under the shelter of the dome above. A dome that ended at the balcony railing. The courtyard itself was open to the night sky. Under different circumstances it would have been a glorious sight.

The moment they reached the bottom of the ramp the screams tore through the room. Ungodly shrieks that crawled right up your spine. Nana cringed at the sound. She tucked herself into cover and motioned the others to do the same.

“That one's new.” Garrus grumbled as he checked the heat sync on his assault rifle.

“You better have somethin' stronger than that peashooter, boy!” Nana snapped at him.

Shepard fired off a couple of pistol rounds at a target the others had yet to see. It teleported closer with each round. The look on the commander's face said it all. They were up the creek without a paddle.

Nana saw Garrus peek around the edge of a planter he had sheltered behind. His eyes widened and mandibles fell slack in shock. “ _Spirits.._. what _is_ that?”

“ _That_ is an abomination, boy! It's what the Reapers are turning my kind into.” Nana hissed out quietly as she ducked around another planter and snatched up a shotgun lying near another body.

Shepard threw out a shockwave at the creature to no affect. She rolled back out of its reach and fired her pistol at it. Nothing seemed to phase it.

Nana aimed the shotgun at it. A thousand years of experience had to pay off somewhere. She might be a biotic, an Adept by Alliance standards, but she still knew her way around guns. That was something she had drilled into Shepard for a good many years.

The weapon's kick drilled deep into her hip as she braced it against her belt. It was going to bruise, but better that than being eaten by the Cannibals that were sure to follow the Banshee. It jerked with the blast and glared at her, screaming. She balled up a surge of biotic energy over her fist and thrust it at the Reaper-spawn with a shout. That would slow it down, but she doubted very much that it would stop it.

Shepard caught on quickly to the strategy and began alternating between pistol blasts and biotics as she moved from cover to cover. It jolted forward and took a nasty swipe at the commander. She went down, doubling over as her pistol went skittering across the floor.

“Enough of this!” Nana let out a yell, rolled and sprang from the floor at the Banshee. A pair of omni-blades crisscrossing before her as she met the beast head on. Her momentum carried the attack through and the Banshee's head went bouncing to the other side of the room.

Nana followed the body down to the floor, landing on her hands and knees straddling it. She was breathing hard as she looked left and right to ensure there were no others immediately ready to attack her. Staggering to her feet, she lurched back toward Shepard. Garrus was already at the commander's side.

“I'm getting too damned old for this.” Nana grumbled.

There was no time to spare as the screams of another one heralded the arrival of several Cannibals. Shepard was on her feet with the turian's assistance. Clearly she was trying to assure him she was alright. Nana looked her over critically for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the approaching enemies.

“Move your ass, girl!” Nana growled back at Shepard before darting toward a column and taking cover just ahead of the team.

“Medi-gel... I'll live...” Shepard panted from behind.

Nana smiled at that iron will and shear determination. Those were two of the main reasons she had snatched her off the streets so many years ago. The child had shown too much potential to lose her to the gangs. Allowing her to destroy herself on Red Sand would have been a terrible waste of potential. It helped that Shepard had reminded her of one of her own daughters. Rila, always so self-reliant and strong willed. She hoped the girl was still alive.

The Cannibals were coming through the doors beneath the balcony as well as the ventilation shafts. Nana noted Liara jogging forward and firing her own pistol at one of them. Garrus had clearly swapped his assault rifle for his sniper rifle as one of the monsters when down with a smoking hole between its four eyes. The shockwave ripping through those directly in front of her brought a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. Shepard was recovering. The medi-gel was doing its job.

The moment the last of the Cannibals dropped to the floor with a wet thump, Liara stepped up to the downed Banshee. She looked a little white around the edges to Nana. The elder asari wondered if the girl might toss her lunch.

“That used to be a person. An asari.” Liara commented sickly. “What have the Reapers done?”

“Same as they've done to my people... and Shepard's.... Same as they do to any race they encounter...” Garrus growled in clear disgust as he stared down at the headless body. “Corrupted them.”

“This has to end.” Shepard whispered and stepped over the body. She headed determinedly toward the closed door beneath the balcony.

Garrus followed her and stepped ahead of her when she slowed at the sight of the red door lock. He wasted not time in hacking that lock. It took several long minutes for him to bypass the security code. When he did, the door slid open to chaos.

Nana's breath caught at the sight. Falere ran from a Cannibal even as she threw a biotic blast back at it. She skidded to a halt at a wall and looked around frantically for escape. Between one heartbeat and the next, Samara dropped from somewhere above and hit the thing with another blast that sent it flying.

“Mother? You _came_.” Falere said breathlessly.

“As soon as I was able.” Samara looked back at her and answered. She stepped forward toward the team as they entered the room. “Shepard, this is Falere, my youngest. She and her sister, Rila are...”

“Ardat-Yakshi... yeah, yeah, so dramatic, Sam. Shepard's already figured that out. Why else would our girls be living here?” Nana barked as she stepped past the turian.

“You're _both_ here!” Falere breathed excitedly, a smile splitting her face. Then it melted away as a stress returned to her face. “They _have_ Rila!”

“What?” Samara turned to face the girl.

“I saw some of those creatures take her into the Great Hall. _I've been trying to get there_.” Falere elaborated frantically.

“What are the Reapers doing here?” Shepard asked from Nana's left.

Falere shook her head and stepped away, pointing at a body in the floor. “Harvesting us. They're turning us into... into those. Monsters... Please, you _can't_ let that happen to Rila.”

“The asari thought the Ardat-Yakshi were to blame for the attack.” Shepard mentioned.

“ _This_ _is our home!_ Most of us are _grateful_ to be here. The monastery is a place Ardat-Yakshi can achieve peace.” Falere said heatedly.

“She's right, child. This is the only sanctuary they have. Why would they turn it upside down and destroy their only safe haven?” Nana asked as she took her daughter's hand with a gentle smile. She ignored Samara's narrowed eyes.

“There's a bomb in the Great Hall. With a little luck, we won't have to set it off, but we need to find your sister.” Shepard stated sounding almost cold.

“A bomb? But I thought you came to rescue us.” Falere looked between her parents and Shepard.

“ _We_ did, dear. The commandos didn't.” Nana continued to smile at her as she caressed Falere's cheek.

“We'll rescue as many as we can, but this place is a liability.” Shepard made it clear which way her thoughts were leaning on the matter.

“A liability? My friends have been killed. Turned into – ” Falere stepped away from Nana and pointed a finger at Shepard angrily, her voice filled with the tears she had not yet shed.

“Falere! We did not come to argue.” Samara snapped.

“No, you came to destroy us!” Falere snapped back and turned away from them. She took a couple of determined steps toward the railing and jumped over it.

“Falere!” Samara barked as she followed her to the railing. She looked to Shepard as the girl touched down on the level below, biotic energy flowing around her. “The Great Hall. She's looking for Rila.”

“Dammit...” Nana snarled under her breath as Samara followed Falere to the next level.

“We'll meet you there.” Shepard said as they watched her touch down as well.

“Please be swift.” Samara turned back and said over her shoulder.

“The way that girl is actin' you'd think Samara squeezed her out.” Nana grumbled as she cocked her shotgun.

“Didn't she give birth to her?” Shepard asked in obvious confusion. “Falere called her 'mother'... I thought...”

“The asari don't have a word for 'father', girl. What else would she call her other parent?” Nana glared in the direction the pair had gone. “To answer your question; no. _I_ gave birth to both Falere and Rila. Sam... well... you'd have to call her their father, I suppose. Morinth's the only one Sam gave birth to... Not mine, by the way. That girl had too much of her mother in her or... maybe too much of her... 'father'. I don't know.”


	3. Loose Cannon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Banshees are almost more than the team can handle, but they have a Nana and as well as a Shepard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nana's been quiet so long, she's grabbing the scene and running with it.

Shepard narrowed her eyes at Nana for a moment as she drew up the image of Falere before her mind's eye. There was no doubt the girl looked more like Nana than Samara. Same cheekbones and nose, similar chin, but her eyes were closer to Samara's odd shade of blue. Definitely not the sea-foam green of Nana's eyes.

“Let's go. We need to find that bomb.” Shepard finally said as she moved off toward an intact terminal.

A recorded message was running in a loop on the thing. According to that message, one of the monastery's heads had cut their residents off from the extranet the moment rumor of the Reaper invasion began. The Ardat-Yakshi living here had been completely unprepared for the attack.

“This place was beautiful before the Reapers came.” Liara said wistfully as she gazed at the bullet riddled walls.

“Everything they touch is left in ruins.” Garrus said grudgingly.

Shepard closed the terminal and cut the loop before heading for the door she had missed near the stairs. This one was not locked like some had been. It opened quickly on corridor of planters, columns... and a Marauder. She took cover behind a planter, signaling her team to do the same.

Peeking around the corner of the planter she was tucked against, Shepard took careful aim at the Marauder with her pistol. Firing off a couple of shots directly into the Reaper-spawn's carapace drew the attention of the Cannibal she had not seen. As the blue blood spurted up into the air in an arch, the Cannibal struck. It grabbed the Marauder and dragged him to the ground, already beginning to eat him before he had stopped twitching.

“ _Goddess._..” Liara breathed in a mix of horror and disgust.

“Stow it, girl.” Nana growled at her as she tucked herself beside her. “You act as if you've never seen one of these things before.”

A second Marauder stepped past the chowing Cannibal and opened fire on them. Garrus had been lining up a shot on the Cannibal. Those shots narrowly missed him as he dove for better cover.

“Crap!” Shepard heard him grunt with a clatter of armor on the floor.

“You ok over there?” Shepard called as she tossed out a singularity to capture whatever it could.

“Yeah... just a scratch.” he called back as his head popped up over the edge of a planter and he fired his pistol at the now floating Reaper-spawn.

“My kind of scratch or yours?” she asked. The commander knew the turian's kind of 'scratch'. His idea of a scratch might be something closer to an arm falling off.

Garrus huffed a laugh at that and dared a glance in her direction. “Your kind...”

Shepard fired off a couple of random shots in the general direction of the last Cannibal who had not gotten caught in the singularity. As it went down, she was already heading toward the turian. Her kind of 'scratch' ranged from a graze from a bullet to a bullet hole somewhere.

“How bad?” she asked him as she stopped beside the planter he sat behind.

“It's going to leave a mark.” he chuckled and grunted, rubbing his shoulder just below the armored pad.

“Tell me you didn't take another hit in that shoulder, Vakarian.” Shepard grumbled.

“Ok.” his mandibles flared slightly in a smile as he climbed to his feet.

Shepard growled wordlessly and shook her head at him. She took his hand and gently tugged it away from the area he had been rubbing at. The flex-mesh was split across the top of his shoulder and she could see a smear of blue across the hide beneath. A graze, from the look of it. High on the top of his shoulder. It was not going to affect his ability to continue.

“What am I gonna do with you?” she asked him irritably as she snapped the frayed strap of his shoulder pad. It flicked that pad with a sharp popping sound.

“I'm sure... you can think of... _something_.” he murmured, ducking his head down to brush his plated brow against her forehead.

“ _If_ you two are _interested,_ there's another of those damn Banshees downstairs.” Nana snapped peevishly.

Shepard nodded and stepped away from Garrus to head for the railing. Nana was right, there was another one roaming around down there aimlessly. It seemed to be sniffing the air randomly. It was bound to notice them the moment they headed down the stairs, if not sooner. She fully expected another fight the moment they hit the next level for a certainty.

To her great surprise, Nana took point, jogging down the stairs cocking her shotgun. The moment she hit the stair landing, she ran out in front of the Banshee and bellowed at it. “Come on you thrice dammed _Reaper whore!_ Catch me if you can!”

Shepard half gasped, half laughed at the display as the elder asari shot across the room and vaulted over a planter. The Banshee screamed and raised its arm at her slowly. The commander realized almost too late that Nana had just provided her with a diversion.

“Let's _go_ , Shepard... don't wanna waste this chance.” Garrus breathed near her as he darted down the stairs after the asari, assault rifle already trained on the Banshee.

Following hot on his heels, Shepard fired her pistol at the Banshee's head several times. All it did was cause the thing to twitch a few times. It would have turned toward her if Nana had not raised up and fired a couple of shotgun rounds right into its belly. The Banshee screamed and turned back to face the elder asari once more.

Nana dove for another planter and rolled the second the Banshee slung a blast of energy at her. Shepard rushed the Reaper-spawn, her omni-blade at the ready. Sliding across the smooth stone floor, she sliced across the creature's hamstrings. It shrieked and toppled over as she threw herself around another planter.

Liara had been right behind her and stopped now at the monster's head. She stood over it for a split second, a sneer of open disgust on her face. Her pistol seemed to aim and fire of its own accord; three rounds right through the Banshee's distorted face. At the screams of a second one, the blue woman gasped and glanced over her shoulder before running for cover.

Shepard stepped out of her own cover long enough to get a clear view of the entire room. At least one more Banshee and a half dozen Cannibals. Those odds were not too terrible, in her opinion. They had faced much worse thus far.

That second Banshee was b-lining straight for Nana as if seeking revenge for its partner. Maybe it was. No one knew if those the Reapers corrupted retained anything of who they had once been. She fervently hoped they did not. If they did, the consequences were unthinkable.

Running toward Nana and her assailant, Shepard balled up that energy field she had struck those pods on Utukku with. With a yell, she drove her fist straight into the Banshee's back. Her team was dealing with the Cannibals as she drove this attack forward.

The attack was effective enough save one small problem, the Banshee sidestepped at the last possible instant. Shepard hit the planter before it hard enough to break the concrete apart. Pieces clattered to the floor like shattered pottery as she pushed herself off the rim of what remained standing. She glanced up in time to see Nana vault over the planter nearest to it. The woman was completely aglow with biotic energy as she launched herself off the rim of that planter at the Banshee.

The Banshee hit her with a blast that set her skin glowing with globules of energy and she screamed raggedly, but continued her own attack. She hit the creature, legs wrapping around its middle as it staggered under the assault. Her omni-blades sank deep into the Banshee's shoulders even as its hands wrapped around her neck.

With a scream of rage, Nana tore those blades free of the Banshee, leaving great bleeding trenches in its hide. It staggered and fell forward, taking Nana with it. Silence filled the room the moment the pair hit the floor.

“Nana...?” Shepard asked in shock.

No reply. Not even when Garrus and Liara drew near the Banshee's body. A sense of dread gripped the core of Shepard's being and she rushed toward the body that pinned the elder asari. All the worst case scenarios playing out before her mind's eye in the space between heartbeats.


	4. The Great Hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, Shepard felt as if Nana was calling the shots on this mission.

“Ugghhh...” came the moan that caused Shepard's heart to skip a beat. “Get this big bitch _off_ me...”

Garrus nearly jumped forward and grabbed one of the Banshee's arms. Shepard joined him and grabbed the other. Between them, they hauled the corpse off a battered Nana who was eyeing them both angrily. It was coming, the tongue lashing was only seconds away and Shepard knew she would relish this one.

“You just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me up, girl?” Nana growled at her.

Shepard smiled at her and offered her hand. The asari took it and hauled herself up carefully. A couple of her joints issued loud cracks and the blue woman winced.

“You're injured.” Liara noted the moment Nana was on her feet.

“ _You_ try landin' on your ass with _that_ on top of you... see if you come out of it without a couple of scrapes and bruises.” Nana pointed at the Banshee corpse before running a hand over the bleeding scrape across her forehead.

“This doesn't look bad.” Shepard said, stepping forward and tipping the woman's head back for a better look. She frowned and locked eyes with Nana. “It looks like a bite.”

“Damn thing's teeth banged into me on the way down. Of course it looks like a bite, girl!” she stepped away and headed for the only door leading out of the room. “The Great Hall has to be close. Let's go.”

Somehow, Shepard felt as if Nana was calling the shots on this mission. For the moment, she was obliged to allow it. Those Banshees were the stuff of nightmares, but the rest she had grown used to over the last few months.

“Damn thing's locked...” Nana grumbled and glanced over her shoulder toward Garrus.

Shepard barely contained the smile as the turian jogged forward and began hacking the door lock. He had it open in a matter of minutes with a flourish of hands. She watched as he stepped aside for the asari.

This room was a little too quiet for Shepard's taste as they entered. There was a stack of munitions crates sitting in the middle of it with someone slumped against it. It was clear the asari was dead as they drew nearer.

“Another dead commando. Was she holding off Reapers, or was she left behind?” Garrus asked as he had clearly scanned her with his visor just to be sure she was dead.

“Commandos work as teams. She would have volunteered to guard this point.” Liara stated quietly.

“Hope she took some down before she died.” Garrus grumbled as he gently went through the pouches in her armor for rounds he could use. The munitions cases all looked empty.

“You think this one's gonna work?” Shepard asked over her shoulder at them as she keyed open the elevator.

“It better work. Looks like the only way out of this room besides the way we came in.” Nana grumbled.

“It has power.” Garrus stepped forward and looked it up and down. “Should be fine... provided it doesn't short out and drop us to our deaths.”

“You're just a ray of sunshine today, aren't you boy?” Nana snapped at him before stepping into the elevator.

Shepard followed, giving him an apologetic look. Liara stepped past him with a nod and Garrus brought up the rear. The turian was making sure the room remained clear until the doors closed on them. A sound strategy and she thanked him silently for his thoughtfulness.

The ride down to the next level seemed to take forever. Everyone was keyed up and high on their species equivalent of adrenaline. Anything could jump out at them the second they stepped out of that elevator and they all knew it. According to the NavPoint Liara had sent to her omni-tool, the elevator should open on the Great Hall itself.

“Stay sharp, guys.” Shepard stated as she checked the heat sync in her pistol.

The doors opened on a big room filled with columns and stairs leading up to a wall of glass. There were several large explosives sitting around the room, fanning out from the one in the middle. Each one was linked with a thick cord.

“There's our bomb.” Garrus noted as he headed to the right.

“And Falere.” Shepard said, taking note of the asari standing at the top of the stairs.

“Rila. Rila, wake up.” Falere was calling desperately.

“Falere, Rila cannot hear us.” Samara stated as she stepped out from behind a column.

“Look.. She's _still_ alive.” Falere all but whined.

Nana headed toward them like a shot before Shepard could stop her. She snapped at Samara on her way up those stairs. “Our girl's a fighter, Sam!”

“I know, but I'm afraid Rila is not well.” Samara sounded far too calm.

“Rila's not one of them yet. _She can't be_. She just needs to _wake up_.” Falere was in tears.

Nana knelt down beside the girls and caressed Rila's cheek. Her voice was soft as she spoke. “Come on, sweetling... we're _all_ here. Wake up.”

“Rila? Rila, can you hear me?” Falere was frantic in calling to her sister.

Rila's eyes opened slowly as her head raised up. The recognition only lasted seconds before her eyes turned black and a sneer pasted itself across her delicate features. She lunged forward, shouldering Nana out of the way and wrapped her hands around Falere's throat.

“ _Goddess.._.” Nana choked out in horror and forcibly pushed Rila off Falere. The girl's head banged into the side of the bomb and she sprawled across the floor with a grunt.

“Why... why did she do that?” Falere choked, holding her throat in utter confusion.

“Because they have begun to turn her into one of the Reaper's creatures.” Samara said as she drew Falere to her feet.

“I'm sorry.” Shepard said stopping beside Samara. The asari acknowledged her by glancing back at her with a nod. Shepard turned to her left, stepping a little distance away and pointed at the explosive sitting behind Rila's still form. “Can we set off that bomb?”

“Not without a detonator.” Garrus shook his head.

“The commandos would have had one. We've got to find it.” Shepard said walking determinedly toward the next explosive, searching. The moment she knelt down to rummage through the mounds of wires at its foot, the scream echoed through the room

“Crap! Banshee...” Garrus barked as he hunkered down with his assault rifle trained on it.

Shepard slipped in behind the explosive, not the best place to take cover, but it was all she had. She saw Nana grab for Rila and attempt to lift her. Samara put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head even as she pushed Falere behind her.

“She is one of them, Tear. Leave her.” Samara said coldly.

“ _She is our daughter!_ ” Nana raged at her, shaking the other asari off her.

“And she will become a monster!” Samara snapped harshly, gripping Nana's arm and hauling her to her feet. Her voice softened a fraction as she glanced at the approaching Banshee, then back toward Falere. “Help me save the one we still can.”

Nana took a shuddering breath, the look on her face more pained than any Shepard could remember ever seeing there. With a nod, the elder asari stood and placed herself between Falere and the Banshee, her omni-blades at the read.

“Get ready.” Shepard snapped at her team. She took note of Liara taking cover near the foot of the stairs.

“Crap... husks pouring in at nine 'o clock.” Garrus growled as he fired at them.

Shepard nodded and tagged the Banshee a few times. The husks were easily managed, but much faster than the Banshee. She knew he and Liara would work on them while she and the asari worked on the Banshee.

The moment the second Banshee stepped into the room, she swallowed the idea of them being slow moving. For every shot she fired at it, the thing teleported ten feet closer to her. Before she had time to register its movements, it was practically on top of her.

Shepard jumped back out of reach as it swiped at her. She missed being grabbed by bare inches. Its nails, black as coal and dangerously curved, had to be at least three inches long. Stepping back again and dodging to her left, she passed behind the main bomb even as she saw Nana hunker down and ready for attack. Samara was completely aglow with biotic energy.

The Banshee followed Shepard's movements and teleported out of range of Nana, Samara and Falere. That had been her plan in the long run. She meant to get the thing as far from them as she could before she finally cut loose on it. They're help would be greatly welcomed, but at a distance.

Dancing around the room, firing both biotics and rounds at the thing, Shepard kept moving. Garrus and Liara were still mopping up the husk problem. The Banshee screamed and let loose a biotic blast that nearly knocked the commander off her feet. She shook her head, ears ringing and barely escaped that 'claw' swiping at her again. The explosive in the middle of the room ended up between her and the Banshee. Hiking a let up, she stepped onto the bomb, fist glowing with biotic energy. The second the Banshee threw back its head and shoulders to scream again, she launched herself at it. She brought that fist down on the creature's face with a yell and a blast of power. As it fell, neck snapping backward with a loud crunch, she hit the floor and rolled.

Coming back up to her feet, she noticed the first Banshee caught between the biotic blasts of the three asari. It shrieked and exploded just outside of Samara's biotic field. The Justicar was shielder Falere, Rila and the bomb itself. The moment it was down, Nana took off running toward something to their right. Shepard's eyes flicked along her line of trajectory and saw the third Banshee in a darkened alcove beyond.

The Banshee shrieked and hit the asari with a blast that coated her in those glowing globules of sickly energy. Nana let out a scream of rage and threw herself at the creature. One of the Banshee's hands, glowing with power, grabbed for one of the asari's omni-blades. That blade when through its hand and promptly disintegrated. The other hand caught Nana by the throat and screamed in her face.

“ _You're not getting my daughters, you bitch!_ ” Nana snarled into its twisted face.

The elder asari thrust her remaining omni-blade into the hollow just above the Banshee's belly. She gave the blade a vicious twist and ripped it downward, spilling the creature's intestines onto the floor at its feet. Pushing off it, she jumped back and away. The creature sagged to its knees and toppled forward with a wet smacking sound into its own entrails.

Shepard took out a husk casually, her eyes still glued to the drama playing out a few feet away. She remembered Nana beginning her training long before she enlisted in the Alliance, but she had never realized just how vicious or ruthless the woman could be. It had to be the Justicar training, she realized. That was something the elder asari had hidden from her for years.

“Scratch one!” Garrus hooted as he took the last husk down.

“Looks like the last one... for now. Let's get back to that bomb.” Shepard called as she headed that way.


	5. The Bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It's too late for me. There are hundreds more coming. You have to go... now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short chapter here, from Rila's pov.

Rila moaned softly, her head buzzing like a million tiny insects were nibbling at her brain. Her head tentacles itched maddeningly with the sound. She could feel them, _hear_ them, deep in her mind. The Reapers, so many voices all demanding she obey. Her will was not entirely her own now. It had not been since the Banshees carried her into the Great Hall. They had surrounded her, subjected her to the low vibration of indoctrination. It still crawled over her skin and wormed its way into her mind through her eyes, her nose and her mouth. There was no escape for her now. Maybe there never had been.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she took note of those around her. Not the Banshees, not Reaper-spawn. No, these were strangers and family. Her sister, their parents... Both parents in the same place together, not trying to kill each other. _Am I already dead? Are they?_

“Falere!” she gasped out to get her sister's attention. The moment the other knelt down beside her, she gripped her shoulders. “Go! Take the elevator!”

“Rila, wh.. what are you doing?” Falere was in a near state of panic.

“It's too late for me. There are hundreds more coming. You have to go... now!” Rila narrowed her eyes at her sister, struggling to maintain the fraction of control she had wrestled from the Reapers. Her grip tightened on her sister's shoulders. She released her sister with a slight push and pulled the detonator from a pocket of her gown. Gripping it firmly, Rila's thumb resting just below the button. “I will take as many of them with me as I can, but you have to go.”

“Let's move!” The armored woman Rila did not know barked.

Falere gasped in shock and took a step toward her sister. Samara grabbed her by the elbow, but she slipped away. The team's commander grabbed Falere around the waist and hauled her physically toward the elevator.

“You're sure?” Nana asked as she helped Rila to her feet before nodding toward Samara.

Rila nodded and staggered against the bomb, one hand against her head as the indoctrination attempted to override her control once more. Her voice was a strained whisper when it finally came. “Please just go.”

“No, Rila!” Falere cried.

“I love you.” Rila said quietly to her sister. In reality, it was for her entire family.

“Rila!” Falere cried, struggling against the commander's grip.

Nana nodded and turned to assist the woman with Falere. There were tears in her eyes as she did. It would be the last time she saw either of her parents in this life. Nana never cried openly. Samara never cried at all.

Rila watched Nana take hold of Falere's arm and half drag her up the stairs with the commander's arm still around her waist. It too both of them to control her and force her toward the elevator. Her sister was no weakling, that much was clear.

A gasp drew itself from her lungs as the first screams echoed through the room. _Go. Please go faster. They are coming! I cannot resist their call much longer_. She saw them enter the elevator as three Banshees entered the room from the stairs leading to the level above. Their screams called to her, beckoned her to accept the change, to accept them. She fought, but it was painful. Oh so very painful. Her head felt as if it might explode as she dropped to her knees. She drew on her biotics and sent a blast at the nearest of them, but it deflected it easily. It was the last she had, there was no more strength in her for more than mental resistance.

A cry of pain escaped her as the nearest Banshee thrust its hand completely through her middle. It lifted her up level with its twisted face and wrapped its hand around her head. Its breath smelled of death and decay, bare inches from her own. Still she resisted that call within her mind. The whispers and promises of sweet release with acceptance.

“We're not your slaves.” Rila growled at the monster that held her at its mercy. She raised a shaking hand up, the hand holding the detonator, her thumb hovering over the button. Grunting as the Banshee twisted her head upward, she depressed that button and dropped the device. She whispered as the faint beeping reached a single long pitch. “I am free...”


	6. The Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samara seems willing to sacrifice herself to save her daughter.

The explosion shook the elevator. Falere pounded her fist against the closed doors and Shepard put a hand on her shoulder as the woman sagged under the crushing weight of loss. Nana held herself upright in the corner of that box. Rila was not the first of her daughters to be sacrificed to the Reapers. Selyxta... she was the daughter of her former turian bondmate, Aetmius. Blood, she might not have been, but the girl was no less her daughter.

Rila... that girl had gotten more than healthy dose of Nana's own genes during conception. And now she was gone. Only Falere and Aria remained. The loss was new, raw and still unreal. She could work with that, work through it until she had a moment to herself. There were still the two girls and Aria was safely away on the Citadel. At least until she decided to attempt taking back Omega.

The elevator stopped and Falere stepped out listlessly. “Rila... there wasn't even _time_ to say goodbye!”

Samara followed her out. It was clear from the look on her face and the stiffness of her back, that she was taking this loss just as hard. “Few can break the Reaper's hold. Rila's will was extraordinary, as was her love for you.”

Falere looked out at the flames rising from the courtyard below for a moment longer before turning on Samara. “We left her to _die_!”

Samara simply stared at the girl, an unreadable look on her face. Nana stepped up beside Shepard as the others simply watched this drama play out. She was not sure she would or even could allow it to reach the point of no return. Who knew what either of those two might do.

Pacing a few steps, Samara finally answered what was clearly a challenge. “Rila made her choice, and it has reminded me of what is truly important... why I swore I'd lay down my life.”

“What are you talking about?” Falere asked softly, tears still flowing freely down her face.

“Falere...” Samara turned toward the girl, a grim look on her face.

Nana narrowed her eyes at that look. She knew it too wall. Sam had reached some awful decision they were all about to regret.

“The Code demands an Ardat-Yakshi cannot _live_ outside a monastery that no longer exists.” Samara said as she drew her pistol.

“What are you doing?” Shepard hissed as she took a half step forward.

“I'm sorry, Shepard. By the Justicar's Code... there is only one way to save Falere.” Samara said quietly.

“Mother, no...” Falere sobbed as Samara raised the pistol to her own temple.

A proud look settled onto the woman's face, touched with a faint smile. “My daughters. You were all so much stronger than I believed.”

Before Nana could fully comprehend what she was seeing, Shepard darted forward and snatched Samara's hands down, drawing them behind her back almost viciously. She snapped a pair of handcuffs around the asari's wrists that she must have snatched from Garrus.

“Let... go!” Samara growled angrily.

“What are you doing?” Shepard breathed.

“Fulfilling the Code.” Sam snapped.

“By throwing away your life?” Shepard was clearly ready to knock some sense into her if she had to.

“I won't kill my last daughter!” Sam twisted around in her grip to eye her angrily.

Nana wasted no time in stepping forward. “You can't do this, Sam! Our girl's already lost her sister! Does she have to lose you too?”

“This is my home, no matter what's become of it. I'll stay here.” Falere said as she stepped forward, sounding much calmer than any of them felt in that moment.

“Without a proper monastery...” Sam began.

“I could have left _any_ time. I don't _need_ a building to honor my own code.” Falere reminded her. Her next words were cold. “And if the Reapers return, they won't take me alive. I promise that.”

“You know she's right, girl. Accept her words and honor _our_ Code!” Nana snapped and stood a little straighter beside their daughter.

Samara seemed to weigh her options for a moment, glancing between them thoughtfully. “Then... the Code permits you to stay, as you are.”

Falere hugged her then, ignoring the handcuffs. Samara's head dropped to their daughter's shoulder, the first real sign of emotion she had shown in this whole mess. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply of the girl's scent.

“I'm... uh.... I'm not sure... I have the key to those.” Garrus spoke up softly.

Shepard gave him a half smile as she drew the key in question out of a small slot in one of her cuffs. “I always have a spare.”

Samara slipped her arms around Falere the moment her wrists were released. “When this war is over, and if I am able, I will visit. As a Justicar should.”

“I meant it when I said the galaxy needs you against the Reapers...” Shepard began as she stepped around to face Samara as Falere released her. “But I'd understand if you wanted to stay.”

“It must wait. You were right. It's past time I joined your battle. I'll speak with Falere...” Samara nodded “then join your forces... If you'll have me, of course.”

“I'd be honored.” Shepard nodded.

“The honor is mine, my friend.” Samara bowed her head slightly before stepping away.

Shepard touched the implant near her ear and hailed Cortez a moment later. “Everything's taken care of down here. Bring in the shuttle.”

“Right, Commander. I'll just follow the smoke.” Cortez replied over the comm.

“I hope you plan to visit as a parent... and not a Justicar, Sam.” Nana said softly as she sat down with Falere on a stone bench across the balcony.

“Of course I do, Tear, but there is a war to win first. You know I must leave with Shepard.” Samara said as she knelt down before them. She took Falere's hands.

“Then I'll stay here.” Nana began.

“No.” Samara shook her head and placed on hand on Nana's knee. “You know you cannot.”

Nana sighed with a nod. Samara knew. How could she not? She knew what Sha'ira was capable of long before her own mother ever had. The girl might have been her niece, but even Nana had never suspected what she might do when she met someone of Shepard's caliber.

“You're right.” Nana finally sighed heavily with a nod.

“You must tell her. I will stay with Falere until the shuttle arrives.” Samara said calmly.

“ _Goddess.._. this is not the place to have that kind of conversation and you know it, Sam.” Nana growled softly.

“You must do it soon. Shepard deserves to know.” Samara insisted.

“And what am I supposed to say to her? Have you thought how she'll react to this news? Now? In the middle of this damned war?” Nana raged softly.

Samara reached up and rested a hand at the apex of her neck before drawing her in and resting a cheek against Nana's. “You will think of something. You always do, Tear.”

It was the most affection she had seen from Samara in more than five hundred years. The display shocked a faint huff of air out of her before she recovered with another nod. She was right. Shepard did need to know, but not now, not here. It was all about the timing.


	7. Speculation and Updates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard reluctantly admits that Nana has been acting strangely since showing up on Lessus.

The shuttle ride back to the Normandy was quiet, almost solemn. Originally Samara had meant to return the Normandy with them. Once she had learned her 'car' was still intact, she had departed for the Citadel. From there, she meant to obtain 'direction' as she had put it, to the place she could best serve in the war.

Nana had opted to return to the Normandy in her stead. Still bound to Wrex by her Oath of Subsumation, her official capacity as a Justicar was in service to him. Until she fulfilled those requirements, she could not act officially as a Justicar, but she could contribute to the war effort. Or so she had said when boarding the shuttle.

Shepard eyed her critically now. The woman was a deep well of secrets and she believed she was only catching glimpses of what lie just beneath the surface. There was so much more she needed to know before she could decide where the asari was needed most. The fact that she could hold her own against a Reaper-spawn, at her advanced age, was telling of the kind of skill she must still be hiding. Granted neither fight had been easy, but she had come through with little more than a small gash in her forehead.

Eyes still on Nana as the shuttle docked in the Normandy's bay, Shepard disembarked last, or nearly so. Garrus remained behind with her. She knew he would. Nana had trained a good many members of the Cabal, himself included. His bondmate could only imagine what must be going through his mind over all this.

“You think you know somebody...” Garrus began as he stopped just inside the shuttle's hatch, his eyes were pinned to the retreating form of the asari.

“Maybe we know the person we _needed_ her to be and not the person beneath all those layers.” Shepard nodded.

“Maybe.” Garrus said thoughtfully. “You know... those kinds of secrets make me want to start digging... Call it... a detective's instinct.”

“I wouldn't look too close. Some secrets are better left buried.” Shepard sighed as she stepped down onto the Normandy's deck plates.

“True... but...” it was clear he was not going to be able to leave it alone. “I'm just saying...”

“Uh-huh. This is Nana we're talking about.” Shepard reminded the turian.

“I... uh... I _overheard_... something she and Samara were discussing. Mind you... I wasn't _trying_ to listen in... but...” Garrus was quick to shrug off any wrong-doing in ease dropping.

“Out with it, Vakarian.” Shepard grumbled as they headed for the elevator.

“I'm not sure... not yet, anyway. But it involves you.” Garrus said quietly as he leaned against the wall to wait for the elevator to return. Crossing his arms, he glanced sideways at her. “That alone is enough to get under my plates.”

Shepard nodded thoughtfully as the elevator opened. “I'll have EDI keep tabs on her. If I can't trust her...”

“Right.” Garrus said sharply.

The ride up to the CIC deck was quiet. The look on her turian's face said his mind was chewing on this puzzle hard. His brow-plates were drawn down and his mandibles pulled in tight to his face. It was a classic turian frown.

“I've got a report to log. Meet you in the mess later?” Shepard said as she stepped toward him and rested a hand on his crossed arms.

Garrus nodded, his mandibles relaxing a fraction as his lower eyelids curved upwards. Subtle expressions, that was how turian faces displayed their emotions. Shepard thought of herself as kind of a pro at reading them now. Still, he managed to surprise her from time to time, but not often these days.

They parted ways just outside the elevator. Garrus headed toward the flight deck, clearly meaning to 'pester' Joker some. She headed for the QEC. Asari High Commander was bound to want information and soon. She had sent the actual report off via omni-tool. By now, one of them would have read it.

“We had no idea the situation had deteriorated so quickly.” Tevos said thoughtfully the moment the QEC had activated.

Shepard eyed her suspiciously and wondered again why the asari Councilor was the relay between High Commander hand herself. Maybe it was 'alien relations', but that was stretching the idea. She stepped forward slightly and tilted her head at the woman.

“That's why I set off the bomb. There are no Ardat-Yakshi left.” Shepard said callously. Let the woman believe they had all died. It would give Falere time to rebuild some portion of the monastery that was not damaged.

“May the Ardat-Yakshi find rest. What the Reapers did to them was monstrous.” Tevos said solemnly. She changed gears a moment later. “I had another team of commandos headed to the monastery who I can now formally transfer to Admiral Hackett's command. They'll serve you loyally, Commander. Farewell.”

Shepard stared at the blue fragments of light as they dissipated, the asari's form vanishing as she turned to leave the comm. After a moment, she made a decision. “EDI..”

“Yes, Shepard.” EDI responded promptly.

“I need you to keep tabs on Natearus T'Loak's comm channel. Let me know if there are any odd outbound links.” she said with a sigh.

“Acknowledged.” EDI stated. “Do you require anything else, Commander?”

Shepard started to dismiss the AI and thought better of it. There was something she had been meaning to do since filling out those bonding papers. “Crew log: enable rank upgrade.”

“Enabled. Standing by.” EDI responded.

“Update acting Lieutenant Vakarian to acting Lieutenant Commander.” Shepard paused a moment in thought. “Authorization: Shepard, Commander, System Alliance; N7-900582611-Alpha. Confirm.”

“Update complete. Authorization confirmed. Do you require anything else, Commander?”

“Enable additional audio note on Lieutenant Commander Vakarian's ship service log.” Shepard stated.

“Enabled. Standing by.”

“In the event that I am killed in action, acting Lt Cmdr Vakarian is to take command of the Normandy in my stead.” she had thought to add more. There was so much more she wanted him to hear in that event, but she could not bring herself to speak those words. Not yet anyway. Before the war ended, she knew she might be forced to edit that audio note. “End note and attach.”

“Acknowledged.” EDI confirmed. “Do you require anything else, Commander?”

“Not at this time, EDI.” Shepard sighed and stepped out of the QEC.

“Logging you out.”

The moment she heard the faint tones that confirmed she was indeed logged out, she turned and headed to the CIC. The two privates she had dressed down a few times were gossiping again, but she ignored them. For the moment, they seemed to have learned to keep their comments about the crew out of her hearing. After her threat of tossing one of them out an airlock, who could blame them?  
“Commander, I've got a lead on something interesting.” came Traynor's voice the moment the commander's footsteps could be heard heading her way. “Have you got a minute?”

Shepard sighed inwardly and nodded at the woman as she glanced up at her. The commander headed toward her and glanced down at her console. Data logs, communiques and the like scrolled up her screen.

“I've found something you need to see.” Traynor began as Shepard stopped close to the console.

“What have you got?” the commander asked curiously. In truth, she hoped it was something that could turn the tide of this war. They all needed some kind of hope.

“A group of Cerberus scientists cut ties and fled. Perhaps they finally realized they were on the wrong side.” Traynor said as she tapped that screen and brought up the relevant information. “We don't know what they were researching, but they were among the Illusive Man's top scientists. They could hep build the Crucible.”

“Maybe we could recruit them. Lots of Cerberus people think they're doin' the right thing. I know I did.” Shepard nodded, her last words soft and reflective.

“And you were right, Commander. Whatever crimes Cerberus is committing now...” Traynor paused with a frown and glanced back at her console. “I was on Horizon when the Collectors attacked.”

“Really?” Shepard asked. She had not known any of her current crew had been there other than her team.

“You'll recall, I mentioned growing up in the terminus systems. I was visiting my family at the home. While the Alliance was running studies, _you_ were saving me and my family.” Traynor laid it all out.

“Has the Alliance tried to make contact with the scientists?” Shepard need to know if the Alliance was even aware of this group.

Traynor shook her head with a sigh. “They've been unable to find them, but they're searching... as is Cerberus. I've been monitoring Cerberus communications. I've charted signal frequency from various Cerberus cells by location and cross-referenced known ship movements.”

“You've found them?” Shepard asked and realized this girl was much better at her job than she might once have thought.

“I believe so, yes.” Traynor nodded.

“Nice work. Put it on the map and I'll give it a look.” the commander patted her on the shoulder before turning toward the CIC itself.

“Thanks for your time, Commander.” Traynor stated as she turned back to her console.


	8. Narrowing it Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is doubting her ability to pull the galaxy through this war.

Shepard took the four steps up to the railing around the galaxy map and took a long hard look at it. A good many systems were reporting a Reaper presence now. Still others were bracing for the inevitable. She took note of the few that seemed to be out of the reach of the threat entirely. Part of her wondered just how long that might last. _Not long. It can't last. Those bastards are hitting every system with technologically advanced cultures_. She wondered again why destiny had chosen her to fight this war. _Why me? Why not my brother? What makes me so special... so much better than Shane?_ There was no logical answer, but her mind conjured one in her brother's voice. _Maybe because you the only grunt dumb enough to do it?_ She sighed at that thought and looked for the marker Traynor should have on the map by now.

The second planet in the Arrae System. The planet was a former human penal colony. The turians had 'rented' it out to the Alliance until the prison was shut down. Even though it was the second planet from its system's sun, it was cold. That was the one note that struck a cord with her. Cold. Garrus was not going to like that, but she was not about to leave her best gun behind over a little permafrost.

“Joker, lay in a course to the Arrae System. We're headed to Gellix.” Shepard said over the comm.

“Aye, aye, Commander.” Joker acknowledged.

Gripping the railing, she sighed and turned toward the elevator behind her. Food. She _needed_ food more than she wanted it. It was something she had been neglecting more often than not. Garrus had tried to make sure she ate regularly, but even he could not be with her every free moment of every day. There was no more weight she could safely lose by this point. Even Chakwas had been after her to take in more calories. As an Adept, she tended to burn them off faster than she could replace them anyway. Her cybernetics only provided so much supplemental nutrients. The rest had to come from meals. She just found it incredibly hard to focus on something so mundane as eating when the whole galaxy was going to hell around her.

The ride down to the mess hall seemed so much slower than usual. This war was weighing on her, tearing her down little by little in ways she would never admit to anyone, not even herself. Every battle drained a little more of her strength... or was it her determination? Some days her resolves was riddled with doubt. Even with all she had accomplished, she still doubted her own ability to really pull this off. No one else seemed to doubt her and that worried her even more. The 'what if's', the uncertainty of where this was all going to end. It ate at her, gnawed at her gut and chewed on her bones like nothing else ever had.

The elevator doors opened on the crew deck and she raised her eyes to that memorial wall. Her breath caught at the double list of names marching down its surface opposite of each other. The center remained empty and it was that space that drew her eyes and held them for several long seconds. _Who... who will we put on that wall next? Whose name will adorn the center of this forsaken wall?_ Those were the questions that chased her around the bend and into the mess hall.

Adams, Kenneth and Gabby all sat with Chakwas near the central bulkhead as she hurried past them as well. Garrus was in the kitchenette, his back to her. His attention was fixed on the pot he was filling with water. Kava, she knew that was what he was making. On the stove to his left was a small pan billowing with steam. He set the kava pot down briefly and stepped over to the clearly boiling pan to stir it. A faint chirp and click of clear appreciation issued from him as he stepped back to the kava pot and continued the process of making the turian equivalent to coffee.

Garrus did not notice her until she was standing directly beside him, peering down into the pan on the stove. He nearly jumped out of his plates as he bumped into her. His exhale of breath was sharp as he glared at her for a moment. “Crap!”

“I doubt that is what's in this pan.” Shepard said as she stirred it curiously.

“Hmmm... it... uh... it might taste better, to tell the truth.” the turian's mandibles flared slightly as he poured some kava in his scalloped mug.

“You're kidding...” Shepard scoffed.

“ _Vorsin_.” was all he said as he took the stirring utensil from her.

“I thought you hated that stuff.” she remarked.

“It's not my favorite, but this is actual meat and not a flavored protein bar.” he sighed.

“There is that, I guess.” Shepard started and leaned against the island behind her, elbows draped over its surface. “Are the dextro supplies running short?”

“No... I just didn't want to leave the... uh... dregs of the barrel... until last.” Garrus answered with another slight flaring of his mandibles.

Shepard nodded and stepped over toward levo cold storage. Food, that was one of the reasons she was here, after all. She needed to eat something. It had been her idea to meet the turian in the mess instead of in their quarters. He would not be happy with her if she did not eat something more than a simple protein bar. Thin as she was lately, he had been picking at the angles and edges showing through her flesh. They had been a couple long enough now for him to understand exactly how a strong human female was meant to look. She did not currently match that image.

Rummaging around, she found some kind of precooked sliced meat and a packaged orange. She smashed together a sandwich and toted it and the orange to a table. A few minutes later Garrus joined her with a steaming bowl of sludge. It looked like sludge and smelled like gear grease.

“Looks _very_ appetizing, doesn't it?” Garrus commented as he straddled the chair and sat.

Shepard let out a disgusted sound as she watched him spear a piece of meat with a fork. Dark gray and very clearly coated in grease, bit of it fell back into the bowl with a plopping sound. So caught up on the sight and smell of the stuff, she barely noticed he was using a fork with it. Normally, he simply used his talons.

“Why the fork?” she asked in an effort to control her rebelling stomach.

“Have you... uh... _seen_ this stuff, Shepard?” he asked as the plates of his nose bunched together.

“Point taken.” she swallowed hard when the turian shoved the slimy looking piece of meat in his mouth.

He seemed to notice her discomfort and pointed at the packaged fruit. “So what's that? I've seen a few of the crew peeling them the last few days.”

“It's an orange.” she said simply as she picked it up and tore the package open.

“Shepard, I know it's orange, but what is it? It smells like some kind of fruit.” Garrus grumbled faintly.

She huffed a faint laugh at that. “That _is_ what it's called. Yes, it's orange, but it's called an orange and it is a fruit. It's part of the citrus family.”

“Like a koosan.” he nodded his understanding then.

“A what?” Shepard asked as she began peeling the orange.

“A fruit native to Palaven. Seems a lot like that smells.” Garrus said, pointing his empty fork at the orange.

Shepard locked eyes with him and smiled as she realized their tastes in food were not so different as she might have imagined. It seemed there were dextro equivalents to nearly all the levo foods she greatly enjoyed. She wondered if oranges were one of those foods that might cross both barriers. There were a few that did, mostly fruit. That was presumably the reason double chirality wines were possible.

Garrus did not give her a chance to ask as he reached across the table with an ungloved hand and speared a piece of the orange on a talon. He held it up, investigating its appearance and she assumed running a scan on it with his visor. A grunt of approval escaped him before the talon along with the orange slice disappeared into his mouth. His eyes closed, brow-plates drawing downward as his jaw worked at the fruit.

Shepard simply stared at him. She could not believe he had just taken that kind of risk. The moment he coughed, she was sure he had bitten off more trouble than he could chew, both literally and figuratively. The cough only came a couple of times followed by a faint moan.

“ _Spirits_... that's good, but stronger than I expected.” he breathed in appreciation.

“Are you crazy, Vakarian?” she growled at him.

“Hmmm... must be. I'm bonded to you.” he chuckled and poked at his bowl of meat goo in obvious distaste.

“You're a real comedian today, aren't you? Taking lessons from Joker, I see.” Shepard grumbled, but could not help the faint smile that picked at the corners of her mouth.

“You should eat that. You need the calories.” Garrus said, indicating the orange and its peeling.

“We don't eat the peel.” she commented quietly as she popped a piece of the orange into her mouth.

“Why not? My visor shows most of the benefits of that fruit are in the peeling.” he shook his head with a sigh. “Why do humans throw away all the best parts of their food?”

“Because... it's bitter?” she stated the obvious.

“I don't think I'll ever fully understand your species, ma-kee-sa.” Garrus stated and popped another piece of meat into his mouth. He rarely used that term outside of their quarters. It was a testament to his comfort level among the crew that he did now.

Their meal continued with curious questions and banter, drawing her mind away from the worries beyond that room. It was a momentary distraction, she knew, but she savored ever moment of it. The turian's mere presence soothed that raw place in her mind that carried all her doubts, fears and resentments. His dual-toned voice calmed the part of her soul that wanted to run and hide from the rest of the galaxy. She would never admit to anyone how much that part yammered for her to do just that. Her iron will was the only thing holding her steady on this course. Garrus was the person she would move heaven and hell for if it came to that. He was her one person, the person she would fight to save at all costs. Mordin had been right in narrowing the entire galaxy down to the person he cared the most about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concern over the Coronavirus/Covid-19 is coloring some of the original chapters here. Bear with me on this. I'll do my best to drive them out of the dark mindset they are currently clinging to.


	9. Analyzing Responses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDI analyzes the responses of the rest of the team and questions the logic in augmenting her own programming during wartime.

EDI stood waiting in the shuttle when Commander Shepard and Officer Vakarian boarded. She looked them over critically. Shepard looked worn, tired and possibly malnourished. Vakarian looked concerned. It seemed to radiate from every plate, scale and pore of his organic being. She analyzed the configuration of his facial plates and noted that same concern in his expression.

Frowning, she looked to the human who stopped beside her. “Commander, is it wise to undertake such a mission in your current state of exhaustion?”

“How long have these scientists been holed up out here?” Shepard countered the question with one of her own.

EDI took note of the evasion. Instead of pointing it out, she simply answered. “We have not been provided many details.”

“Days, weeks... a month?” Shepard paused and glanced at the monitor on the wall as the shuttle cleared the bay. “I've had more rest than these people have. They've been out here holding off Cerberus, and maybe Reaper forces, for more than a few hours.”

“I see your point, Shepard.” EDI acknowledged.

“Ma'am, I'm picking up chatter from a Cerberus squad engaging the supply depot.” Cortez stated as he drove the shuttle through atmospheric turbulence.

“Engaging the scientists?” Shepard asked as she stepped up behind the pilot's seat. She leaned on her arm, glancing over his shoulder.

EDI observed the behavior and body language closely. If she were to simulate human emotions, she must understand them. She had upgraded her program enough by this point. Any simulated emotion might well seem just as 'real' to her as it did to the crew around her. This she had done for Jeff, not because he had asked, but because she had wanted it. Now she wondered if the middle of a war had been a good time to create such augmentations to her programming.

“If I'm reading this right, sounds like more troops are on the way.” Cortez confirmed.

“Ok, set us down, then get outa here. I need these scientists alive.” Shepard said firmly before stepping away from his seat. 

Shepard walked across the shuttle toward EDI and looked eyes with her briefly before facing the hatch. She looked almost as if she had eaten something decidedly sour. The determination seemed to encase her in an almost physical barrier and the AI wondered again about the logic of implementing emotional simulation software.

“Are we sure this isn't Noveria?” Garrus asked as the monitor displayed the world outside.

“It might as well be with the temperature and weather conditions.” Cortez stated as he guided the shuttle in.

“You know, Shepard... turians...” Garrus began and Shepard cut him off.

“Don't like the cold. I know, lover.” Shepard gave him a half smile. “We'll be in and back out with a little luck.”

“These things never go as planned, ma-kee-sa.” the turian grumbled as he cocked his rifle and released the safety.

“I know.” Shepard said softly.

As the hatch opened on a frozen supply depot. Shepard was the first of them out of the shuttle, she followed and Vakarian brought up the rear. She watched him take position behind a stack of crates and level his rifle on top of one of them. He scanned the parameter thoroughly before nodding and lowering his weapon.

Shepard took point, as was her usual position. Strategically, it was an illogical choice. Her skill set dictated she should be protected. That meant racing into the front lines was not smart. She could not fault the commander, however. Her strategies, no matter how unorthodox, seemed to work.

“No wonder Cerberus abandoned this place – it's freezing.” the turian shivered.

“Alright, just keep movin'. It'll keep you warm.” Shepard said indifferently.

EDI wondered at that indifference. She knew the two were paired up, a couple, bonded so some scant bits of paperwork said. They displayed moments of public affection regularly. She could not understand the disregard now. Perhaps, when the mission was over, she might ask Shepard about it.

Shepard moved off a few feet and headed down a short flight of stairs. The moment her foot hit the center step, several Cerberus troops seemed to crawl out of the snow. “What did these people do to bring this down on their heads?”

“Defection, rebellion, espionage... just one of those crimes carries a pretty steep punishment within the Hierarchy.” Garrus suggested as he took one guy out with a clean shot.

Shepard nodded and dashed toward a stack of crates in the center of the walkway. She peered around it and aimed her pistol at one the remaining troops.

EDI estimated that this was far too easy. The Normandy's sensors were picking up at least a dozen Cerberus shuttles at key locations around the outpost. What surprised her was the lack of Reaper activity in this system. Gellix was the only planet in the system hosting high enough tech to draw them in, however. That was very likely the reason.

As they ran along the walkway, Shepard veered off to the left and dropped behind a stack of crates at the bottom of a set of stairs. The AI followed her after catching sight of several troopers beyond. A man risked grabbing someone and dragging them to cover through the crossfire. Clearly these were at least some of the scientists in question. Armed and at least briefed in the use of weapons, they were barely holding their own.

“Nooo!” someone cried out as shots rained over them.

EDI could not risk more than a pistol here. Some of her other weaponry would not leave much organic material undamaged should she use it against Cerberus. Instead, she deferred to Shepard's lead. The commander did not risk tossing out her biotics for the same reason. Instead, she fired her pistol at the nearest Cerberus soldier. He went down with a grunt.

Vakarian lined up a shot with his sniper rifle in one breath and in the next he had taken down another trooper. That left the Guardian, or it would have if more assault troopers had not begun dropping from the level above. The turian took out one of those with a shot his rifle should have have been capable of. The man virtually exploded where he stood.

EDI analyzed the sniper's rifle from her location and realized he must have added mods to to increase its output. The lower barrel, normally reserved for concussive rounds, had been augmented to fire something other than standard ordinance. When she saw him palm a couple of heat syncs and set them glowing blue, she understood. Garrus Vakarian was a biotic. He was Cabal, but it was not noted in his service record. Given the fact that he did little else besides charge projectiles, she deduced that he must possess a very minor ability. She began to understand Shepard's attachment to him. Biotics were drawn to biotics. She had taken note of that on many occasions both among Cerberus and the Alliance.

“Taking casualties!” one trooper called out as another dropped to EDI's own bullets.

“Enemy neutralized. We should tend to the survivors.” EDI stated as she clicked the safety on her weapon and returned it to its holster.


	10. An Old Nemesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard was not entirely surprised to find Jacob behind those crates. She was, however, disgusted to find Gavin Archer among the group of scientists.

The second she was sure it was clear, Shepard darted forward, toward the moans and the stacks of crates before the depot doors. She could hear an open comm and someone demanding information frantically. Her path was not as clear as she had thought, she realized when she stepped into a shield generator's beam. She did not bother to aim at the glass encased circuit standing a few feet away. Instead, she simply pointed in that general direction and fired off a couple of rounds. The glass shattered and she moved on.

A woman's voice came over that open comm, but she could not quite understand her through the static. Moving forward, she exercised a bit more caution as she heard a gun being cocked. There was a grunt and a shuffling sound as she neared the crates.

“Hello? Who's there?” came a familiar male voice.

_Can't be. He went back to Cerberus. Must have left with this group of scientists. Good choice for a hired gun, at least_ . Shepard tossed around the idea of who that voice belonged to until she waved an empty hand past the crates. “We're here to help.”

A heartbeat later, she stepped past those crates and came face to face with the owner of that voice. She nodded with a sigh. And knelt down before him, looking over his wound. “How bad, Jacob?”

“I'll live... I think.” he grunted and lowered his pistol.

“This is Brynn. If you can hear me, come in.” came the female voice over the open comm once more. “Is anyone there?”

Shepard glanced to her left and saw the device lying on the concrete just out of Jacob's reach. Garrus had stopped before it and bent down to scoop it up. He handed it too her quickly. Better that she be the one to make contact. She nodded to him and drew it in close to her face.

“This is Commander Shepard of the Alliance. The enemy is clear for now. Open the door, there are wounded out here.”

“Is Jacob there?” the woman asked.

“It's ok, Brynn.” Jacob spoke up then.

After a moment or two that doors slid open and a woman hurried out. She b-lined straight for Jacob as Shepard was hauling him to his feet. Her body language as she pulled his other arm over her shoulder and the look of worry on her face as she glanced down at the bleeding wound told Shepard all she needed to know. Jacob was more than just a hired gun to her. Brynn was invested in his well being.

“Jacob! Oh my god!” Brynn breathed as she put a hand over the wound.

Jacob grunted in pain. He bowed his head in obvious shame. “I'm alright. The others... didn't make it.”

“We'll worry about that later. That wound needs tending.” the woman shook her head and helped Shepard guide him inside.

Between them, they hauled him up the stairs and into a lab of sorts. Helping him sit on an exam bed, Shepard released him and stepped back. Brynn helped him get situated with much grunting and hissing in pain. He was sweating by the time he was in position.

“What are you doin' here?” Shepard asked the moment she was sure he was not about to black out.

“I'm  _supposed_ to be protecting these people from the Illusive Man and his attack dogs!” he growled and shook his head. He had been the only survivor outside those doors.

“Are they gone?” Brynn asked quietly, glancing back at Shepard for confirmation.

“For now. But they'll be back.” Shepard answered as Jacob pinned her with a questioning look of his own.

“Ugh...” Jacob hissed as he shifted his weight on the cot uncomfortably. Brynn was already probing at the wound.

“Sure you're ok?” the commander asked as she watched for a moment.

“Yeah. I'll walk it off... eventually.” he groaned again and gave her a faint smile. “Save my life one more time, and I'll start owing you.”

“This one's on the house.” Shepard gave him a half smile and a nod. She had lost count of how many times she had actually saved his life.

“Hey yo – good to see you too.” Jacob said with a laugh, finally noticing Garrus off to Shepard's right.

“Staying out of trouble, I see.” Garrus snarked, one brow-plate raised as he nodded toward the wound.

“Right.” Jacob grumbled and glanced back toward the woman who was working on that wound. “Shepard, this is Dr. Brynn Cole. She's in charge here.”

Shepard nodded to the woman as she glanced back at the commander. “Tell me what's goin' on here. Intel says you're Cerberus.”

Brynn narrowed her eyes at the commander and placed a pad over Jacob's wound before turning to face her fully. “We're all ex-Cerberus. Scientists, mostly.”

“Civilians?” Shepard asked. She had thought all Cerberus were a part of the Illusive Man's pro-human army.

“Calls us 'refugees'. If we hadn't run, we'd be dead.” Brynn answered.

“Why does the Illusive Man wanna kill you?” Shepard shifted her footing slightly and locked eyes with the woman.

“Our stories are different, but the themes are the same.” Brynn began as she turned to face Jacob once more. “We were each using information from the Cerberus Base to work on the different components of a larger tech. After someone completely their component, they disappeared, no bodies. Just... gone. You can imagine how we felt... signing each other's death warrants.”

“The Illusive Man doesn't mess around. If he can't control it, he'll destroy it.” Shepard sighed with a nod.

“The brain trust here has to be a significant loss for him.” Jacob commented as he shifted again on that cot.

“You had to know he was gonna find you.” Shepard stated the obvious.

“It's a pretty smart bunch. We covered our bases.” Brynn said, tilting her head slightly.

“But the Illusive Man's one tenacious bastard.” Jacob grumbled. Anything else he had been about to say was cut short.

Shepard glanced up sharply at the sound of an explosion as the entire facility shook. She looked back down at the pair before her and nodded. “Time to evacuate.”

“Agreed.” Jacob grunted and sat up. “Just need to get the AA guns on the roof back online. Cerberus is jamming them somehow. They'll just blow our escape shuttles out of the sky without those guns.”

“Might be the network link.” Brynn said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

“I'll check...” Jacob grunted.

“You're not going anywhere. I will check that link.” Brynn growled at him, a fierce flash of protectiveness in her eyes.

“Fine.” Jacob grumbled after a moment and relaxed back onto the cot.

“I'll tend this wound first. This is the priority. When I'm satisfied you're not going to bleed out, I'll check that link.” Brynn stated firmly.

“Yes, ma'am.” Jacob sighed and allowed her to continue what she had started.

“I should go... and check on the rest of your group. We'll need everyone ready to head for those shuttles as soon as AA guns are back up and functioning.” Shepard nodded before turning toward the door.

“Jacob did not recognize me. This may be an opportunity to surprise him.” EDI commented quietly as they left the room.

Shepard shot her a quelling look. If ever the AI had acted childishly, this was the moment. “Let's just focus on the mission, EDI.”

Heading back down the stairs, Shepard noticed someone she thought never to see again. Garrus must have noticed him as well as he started toward the man. She put a hand on his arm and shook her head when he glanced at her. He relaxed a fraction and fell into step beside her.

“Commander Shepard – Dr. Gavin Archer. We... met on Project Overlord.” the man said before he even turned to face her.

Shepard glared down at his offered hand and shifted her weight, crossing her arms. “That's one way of putting it.

“Yes, well, after you took my brother to Grissom Academy, I tried putting all that behind me.” the man dropped his hand and glared at her from beneath his brows. He raised his head enough to make full eye contact a moment later, his expression changing. “I don't suppose you have any news from there? I've heard rumors the Academy is in trouble.”

“After what you did to David, I don't see how it's any of your business.” Shepard growled, eyes narrowed dangerously at the man before her. “But... he  _is_ your brother and I supposed he would want you to know he's ok.”

“Oh, thank god. Commander... you have no idea what that means to me.” Archer said ecstatically. 

“It's a little late to start worrying about his safety now.” she took a step toward him and stopped herself.

“I never stopped.” Archer breathed and the honesty in his voice sickened her. “I know you think I'm a monster. And you're right. Not a day goes by where my dreams aren't haunted by what I did to David. All I can do now is hope that one day he forgives me.”

“What happened to Project Overlord?” Shepard growled at Archer as he turned back to face his console.

“The Illusive Man wanted me to find another test subject. I just couldn't do it again. Not to another innocent mind such as David's.” Archer glanced back at her, a pained look on his face. “So... I destroyed all of my research – Overlord is no more.”

“And what are  _you_ doing here?” she doubted all his research was truly gone. TIM was bound to have some of it, somewhere.

“This was my only refuge after defying the Illusive Man's wishes.” Archer answered simply. When he realized Shepard was still listening, he continued. “I won't do what he asks... not again. As a boy, I wanted to be a scientist to cure disease, discover new elements and do right by the world. That doesn't seem to be the Illusive Man's goal anymore. I never wanted to be remembered as the monster who tortured his own brother... in the name of science.”

“What did you say to the Illusive Man when you destroyed the research?”  _why do I wanna know, dammit? This man is a monster, but... what if there's some redeeming quality in his character.... ugh. Why do I look for it in everyone? It's rarely there_ .

“He didn't much like what I had to say. I merely mentioned that if he intended to work with the devil, he should look in the mirror to consult him.” Archer smiled and let out a faint chuckle.

“He just let you go?” Shepard asked skeptically. She knew TIM. He would never just let anyone walk away.

“If it had been  _that_ easy, I wouldn't be  _hiding_ here.” Archer informed her. “Ever Cerberus soldier in the galaxy has orders to shoot me on sight.”

Shepard glared at him and realized the man probably did not have a single redeemable bone in his body. The only reason he was here was to save his own skin. If he had even hinted at being here to help the others, she might not have sneered at him now.

“I have to go...” she said in a low, angry voice. “And I'm not even gonna pretend it was good seeing you again.”

“I understand. But Commander...” he paused and glanced back over his shoulder at her. “Thank you for saving David... both times.”


	11. Gellix Refugees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus felt an overwhelming need to intimidate Gavin Archer before following Shepard deeper into the complex.

Shaking her head in disgust, Shepard turned and walked away from the man. Garrus glared at Archer a moment longer. He remember far too well how Project Overlord had gone. Shepard had been sucked into some VI world and sealed off from the rest of the team as she had staggered through the doors and out of his reach. He had destroyed a pair of gloves and mangled his talons trying to get through that damn door. Those had been some of the worst hours of his life, not knowing if she would live through whatever hell the so-called rogue VI was putting her through. He could not blame David, the boy was simply trying to free himself. No, this man before him now had nearly cost his bondmate's life long before they had ever bonded.

“Was there something more?” Archer glanced up at him curiously when the turian did not follow Shepard directly.

“You should count yourself lucky.” Garrus growled quietly, his sub-harmonics issuing a vicious snarl the human could not hear.

“I do... every day.” Archer murmured.

“One word from Shepard... that's all it will take.” Garrus glared at him, locking eyes with him angrily as he gripped his rifle a little tighter for emphasis. “One word... and you develop a new cranial hole.”

Archer paled and looked up at the turian in concern. Garrus made it a point to lower his mandibles enough to expose his teeth in a show of anger. The scientist got the hint as he nodded with a faint gasp.

Shepard had gone back through the door to the stairwell by the time he caught up to her. The woman Jacob had called Brynn was at the top of those stairs now talking to a colleague. She seemed stressed about getting something done before they were forced to evacuate.

“...and make sure those samples from Project Mia get out on the second shuttle.” she was saying as they reached the top of the stairs.

“I've already dropped one box, my hands were shaking so hard.” the scientist admitted. He sounded nervous.

Brynn leaned in. “We're going to make it.”

The man nodded and walked away a moment later. Garrus did not think he looked convinced. He noted the man's hands were still shaking quite a bit. This mission was bound to get much more complicated as Cerberus pressed their position. These people were not soldiers. They had no idea how to defend themselves with anything remotely resembling a gun. Science, medicine, medical equipment and labs, that was what they knew best. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he glanced to Shepard once more. These missions were getting so much more complex. He was not sure he could have done even half of what his bondmate was pulling off on a regular basis.

“What's the status of the guns?” Shepard asked Brynn the moment the woman noticed her standing close by.

“Still waiting. I have my best people on it.” Brynn answered quickly before heading off around the railing, clearly indicating Shepard should follow.

“How many scientists are here?” Shepard asked after a couple of steps.

“Forty-three, plus research assistants.” Brynn stated as she glanced toward Shepard and continued walking.

“You ran with over forty people?” Garrus asked. The number had given him pause for nearly a heartbeat. His steps had falter, but picked up once more.

“When you fear for you life, there's a lot you can do.” Brynn glanced back toward him, but continued heading forward determinedly.

“Bynn, I can't possibly dismantle the genetic amplification components in time.” a man headed her off and stopped before her.

“I'm sorry, Dr. Baynor. It's important work, but right now you need to tend to your family.” Brynn answered quickly.

“Wait. There are families here?” Shepard cocked her head to the side and glared at the other woman.

“Children?” Garrus breathed the question in dread.

“A dangerous choice.” EDI added the obvious calculations.

“So those refugees brought everyone with them?” Shepard asked, still sounding more shocked than Garrus had heard her in awhile.  
“Yes...” Brynn sighed. “We have about seventeen kids here. Partners, spouses, parents. I promised these people refuge, a new life, _free_ from Cerberus. I just never imagined the Illusive Man would...”

“That's what evil counts on, that it's hard for good people to imagine.” Shepard nodded as she clearly came to terms with the true status of their current circumstances.

Brynn simply nodded. The look on her face said it all; she was absolutely terrified. Terrified for herself as much as for her charges. There was a good chance she might not be able to keep that promise she had made and she clearly knew it. At least not to everyone here.

“Ok,” Shepard finally said after a couple of breaths. “Everyone left gets out of here alive, but... This escape will have to be _carefully_ executed.”

“I'd hoped... We tried so hard to make sure it wouldn't come to this.” Brynn shook her head and turned away from Shepard in order to check the console she had stopped before.

Garrus eyed Jacob critically when the man limped up toward them. He looked ashen, pale for a human of his color. The turian had had enough experience with humans now to recognize the signs of strain. The man really should not be up just yet, but he was stubborn. Almost as stubborn as the commander.

“What's the news?” Shepard asked as she noticed him as well.

“Can't tell...” he grunted as he drew to a stop before her. “...only know I can't fix it from here. I'm goin' to the roof. Cerberus landed a shuttle there a couple of minutes ago. You in?”

“You'd never make it up there. Not with Cerberus crawling over those guns.” Garrus grumbled as he steadied the man with a supportive hand.

“Garrus is right. We'll handle the repairs... and Cerberus.” Shepard nodded.

“No way. These are _my_ people. I'm going.” Jacob said stubbornly.

“Admirable though the sentiment is, it would be suicide.” Garrus noted quietly and nodded to the man as he made eye contact.

Shepard had already started on ahead and turned back. “Just because you survived _one_ suicide mission, doesn't mean you get two.”

Jacob let out a pained sigh and nodded, eyes cast down toward the floor for a moment. “ _Fine_. But I'm gonna talk you through it from here. Cerberus is probably jammin' the satellite link. Radio me when you've found the controls and I'll give you the override code.”

“Will do.” Shepard acknowledged as the man turned and headed for a nearby console.

The place shook with more explosions and Garrus glanced up at the ceiling as tiny particles rained down from above. This was going to get ugly, he could almost sense it. He sincerely hoped he had not named it correctly when he called it a suicide mission. Retiring someplace warm and tropical was starting to sound better each time they stepped into one of those.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garrus took charge of the first segment of this chapter. I guess he really wanted Archer to understand his life depended on Shepard's choice.


	12. The Roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and her team make their way to the roof.

“The access to the roof is back this way.” Jacob was saying as he limped ahead of the team.

Shepard noted his tight grip on his side with a frown. The wound might be shallow, but the muscle groups were severely affected. If he thought she was going to let him 'lead' them the whole way to those guns, he was crazier than she thought.

“So what's the story with Brynn?” Shepard asked, intending to throw him off kilter for a moment even as the place shook around them with another explosion.

“We're together...” Jacob nodded and continued toward a set of doors near the end of the room.

“Good to hear, but not quite what I was asking?” Shepard let out a faint chuckle as he glanced back at her. “The others look to her for direction. Even a blind man would notice that.”

“Yeah, she was a senior staff member, head of the science division... or near enough. Took awhile to get her to see what Cerberus has become. Guess it didn't really click until her mentor disappeared.” Jacob explained as he stopped at the door. He keyed in an access code and released the lock.

“Once these people are safe, you still have a place on the Normandy... if you want it.” Shepard offered. She knew he likely would not take it, but it needed to be put out there.

“I sat around the Mediterranean for awhile when we came back from that suicide mission alive... Figure if I'm gonna fight for somethin', it better mean somethin' to _me_.” Jacob nodded and made eye contact briefly. “The offer's _real_ tempting, Shepard. But I like where I'm at. These people, they're important to me... like family. I want to build a life with them.”

“Sure. I get that.” Shepard nodded.

“No, I don't think you do, Shepard. The Normandy's your real love.” Jacob looked her straight in the eyes then.

“Doesn't meant I don't wanna say to hell with it sometimes.” Shepard admitted.

“But _you_ won't. You can't.” Jacob stated firmly.

Garrus stepped in close to her, his upper arm bumping her shoulder, and cleared his throat. His mandibles flared slightly in a faint smile when Jacob noticed him. The ex-Cerberus operative stared at the turian for a moment before the lights seemed to go on.

“I... _might_... hold a _slightly_ higher position than the ship.” Garrus said lightly.

“Wait... you two? Hell, how did I miss _that_?” Jacob stepped aside as the door slid open. “Alright, maybe you do get where I'm comin' from, Shepard. But can you really just walk away when this is all over?”

“I don't know, but I think it's worth a try.” Shepard nodded and glanced toward Garrus.

“The access port to the roof is down this corridor and up the ladder at the end. I'll walk you through the repairs once you reach the guns.” Jacob said as he indicated the dim corridor beyond.

Shepard nodded and headed in, the door closing behind her and her team. EDI seemed fascinated by every sight and sound, but that was to be expected. As a general rule of thumb, Shepard left her behind purposely. She still was not convinced the Normandy's computer could withdraw from her robotic body fast enough should it be damaged beyond repair.

“What would these people have done if we hadn't shown up?” Garrus questioned as he made his way through the corridor behind them.

“A hastily assembled militia is no match for a Cerberus force of any kind.” EDI stated the obvious at that.

The place shook around them and Shepard's footing was not as sure as she would have liked it to be. The corridor was short, with steam rolling out of a leaking pipe above. Emergency lighting was all the hallway offered, dim and red as blood. She was glad to see the ladder when it came into view.

“This looks like the way up.” Shepard said as she grabbed the sides of the ladder and swung up onto it.

The climb was relatively short, much shorter than she expected as she topped the ladder. There was another corridor beyond. It opened out onto a segment of the roof. Garrus spotted them first, a pair of Cerberus troopers across the way.

“Got the jump.” he whispered as he tucked himself behind a cluster of pipes.

Shepard pressed herself against a crate and glanced out toward the troopers. She took note of the fact that Garrus was already lining up the shot on one of them. Nodding at him, she drew her own sniper rifle, something she rarely used. The turian ducked his head slightly with a widening of his mandibles before sighting down his scope.

“Three...” Shepard began and put a hole through the head of the target nearest her, punctuating her next word. “... two...”

“One...” Garrus finished, taking his own target down a fraction of a second later.

Quick, clean and quiet. No surprises, that was how the pair liked it. They both vaulted over the cluster of pipes the moment they were sure the coast was clear.

“We must locate the satellite tower.” EDI called, she was just loud enough to draw the attention of a Cerberus engineer they had not seen.

The AI ran over to the shield generator and punched her fist through its casing, ripping out the wires. Shepard threw a shockwave out at the engineer and unbalanced him. A moment later, EDI cartwheeled through the chaos and nearly twisted the man's head off his shoulders. The commander swallowed hard at that action, a hand near her own throat. She had seen some of the shadow warriors Cerberus employed pull off moves like that.

Garrus ran ahead to the satellite controls and keyed open a panel. The second it released, a keyboard dropped into view and he went to work on in. his fingers moved lightning fast across keys designed for human hands. The commander marveled at his adaptability. She doubted she could have done so well in his place.

“Done.” Garrus barked as he snapped the keyboard back into its recess.

Shepard glanced up as the dish shifted opened her omni-tool. “Jacob, the dish should be back online now.”

“Affirmative. But the guns are still down.” his voice came across the comm. “You'll need to manually activate them. Head back to the front of the facility.”

“We've got hostiles incoming.” Garrus called softly from the position he had taken near the end of the ramp they had come up.

“Dammit.” Shepard hissed and took a position behind a crate. Making a judgment call, she darted out into the open and ran for the upper ledge of the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Migraine kicking my butt today. Whipped off a short chapter through it.


	13. The AA Guns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let 'em do their worst.” Garrus regretted those words the moment dozens more Cerberus troops dropped from the shuttles.

Garrus tracked her movements just as surely as he tracked those of the Cerberus troops ahead of them. His brow-plates drew down, mandibles pressing tightly to his face at the risk she was taking. He took out a target directly above her as she vaulted up onto the lowest of the stack of crates. She glanced back at him with a nod as the body slumped over the edge. The 'game' was on. She was counting on him to clear her a path.

Glancing to his right, he saw EDI making her way toward the section of the ledge that was not accessible by crates. The mechanical woman simply jumped up and caught the edge, pulling herself up. A moment later, chaos erupted from that side as men began screaming. A snicker escaped him at the thought of her mowing Cerberus down before either he or Shepard made it to her position.

The turian swept the ledge above Shepard as she climbed those crates quickly. He took out another target less than five feet from her and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the top unharmed. The moment her feet hit the top of the roof, he was on the move. His boots hit that first crate and his legs, built for running and jumping, made short work of the vertical distance. He leaped up to that ledge, catching himself across the middle and dragged himself up.

Shepard was already creating her brand of chaos, biotic blasts raining down like hellfire on Cerberus from every direction. It was glorious. She truly was an elemental goddess in that moment and he was humbled to call her his mate.

The roar from the air drew his attention and he shouted the moment he saw it. “Heads up! Shuttle!”

“They are dropping from above.” EDI called from her location, running toward them fast.

As Garrus took cover behind a pipe, he saw Shepard run forward and ditch behind an air filtration unit. EDI kept moving and followed through with a vicious attack. The sword wielding female grunted as the wind was knocked out of her, her sword clattering to the ground. The AI continued until the woman went flying off the roof with a piercing scream.

Garrus had to admit, EDI was a hell of a fighter. He knew those skills must have come from her data banks and ultimately Cerberus itself. It made her that much more effective against them, he supposed. He was glad he would never have to face her himself. She would take him apart a plate at a time.

Taking out a target near Shepard, the turian ducked back into cover quickly with a sharp intake of breath as a bullet whizzed past his face. He glanced up to the highest section of the roof and saw the turret. His eyes found Shepard a moment later; out in the open, making a run for a trooper.

“Enemy on the mounted gun!” his shout almost came to late.

The rattle of the machine gun carried loud across the roof. The plink-plink-plink of bullets peppering the metal plates seemed to keep time with his racing heart. He was helpless to do more than watch her dive for cover. Her grunt was nearly deafening from more than twenty feet away.

“Gotta get him off that gun!” Shepard shouted a moment later and Garrus found he could breathe again.

Moving ahead, heedless of the gunner, Garrus slid into cover closer to his target. He needed a better angle. His determination to remove the threat overriding caution. He did not wait to settle in, nor did he practice his normal routine. The turian simply acted and a moment later the man behind the turret went sailing through the air in flames. His high impact, biotically charged ordinance found their mark beautifully.

“Nice job.” Shepard commented as she moved out from cover. “Move up! Keep low and find cover!”

Garrus knew that last was meant more for EDI than himself. The mech had been hit a couple of times, he had no doubt of that. There was a small hole in her shoulder, but it did not seem to hinder the function.

Shepard continued moving and managed to climb up a series of ventilation ducts. She barely missed being shot by an unseen trooper. The moment he fired at her, she threw a warp at him. He virtually disintegrated from the force of the blast. The moment he was down, Shepard moved to the level just below the AA guns.

“We need to get up there. Get those guns activated.” she growled as Garrus moved into cover beside her.

Garrus nodded, popping the heat sync from his rifle and glanced around the ventilation duct. It looked clear ahead, for the moment. As soon as that heat sync was cool enough, he snatched it up and tucked into a pouch on his armor. It did not take long in the frigged air. He suppressed a shiver and slipped from cover, taking point.

Peeling to the right under the turret level, he headed for what had to be a ladder. Shepard headed to the left. They meant to meet in the middle, clean up the troopers up top. It might have worked, if the ladder was not completely sheered off. He calculated the height and realized that even he could not make that jump.

Glanced around, he noticed the generator nearby. It was just close enough that he might be able to use it to gain some leverage. It was a risky move, but better than all of them coming up from the same place. He made a dash for the generator and jumped. His feet hit the side and he sprang off it, twisting in the air toward the broken section of ladder... and barely caught it. With a grunt, he pulled himself up and grabbed the next rung. His lower body dangled for several long agonizing seconds as he hauled himself toward the ledge above. The second his knees hit the bottom rung, he hiked his foot up onto it and thrust himself upward. Another ladder faced him and he all but jumped up it as well.

Garrus came up on the other side of the roof from one of the AA guns. He saw Shepard vault and slide over a duct and dart around to the controls. EDI was hot on her heels. A moment later a VI announced that fifty percent of the power had been restored to the guns. The turian was already on the gun before him when Shepard headed his way.

The commander stopped beside him and looked over the sizzling juncture. She glanced between him and EDI with a nod. “EDI, I need you on this.”

“Acknowledged.” the AI stated as she stepped up to the power cell and began manually manipulating it.

“Ready, Garrus?” Shepard asked even as they both saw the shuttle coming in.

Checking his heat sync, he nodded with a purr. “Let 'em do their worst.”

A handful of Cerberus troops dropped from that shuttle. Easy targets for the best of the best, or so he thought until two more shuttles flew in and unloaded more troops. The Phantom that dropped in was the one who concerned him the most. She was fast, quiet and did not need a gun. The female did need to get in close, however. That meant she would be an easier target if he could get a solid bead on her.

“Nice shooting!” he hooted as Shepard took her out first.

Shepard ran for the mounted gun as more troops dropped from those same two shuttles that kept circling the roof. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened when he realized what she meant to do. He looked for cover and found it between two large pipes as she began firing on those shuttles. One shuttle's thrusters began screaming and the vessel banked off away from the roof spewing oily black smoke. The other darted away untouched.

Garrus stepped out of cover the moment the roof appeared clear of troopers. Shepard stepped away from the mounted gun a second later. Neither of them saw the single remaining trooper until it was too late. A shot was fired, Shepard grunted and toppled off the edge of the roof.

“Shepard!” Garrus half gasped, half shouted as he headed for her last position.

“Officer Vakarian, you must reset the AA guns! I will help Shepard!” EDI barked as she bolted ahead of him.

“Crap!” he was torn between the guns and his bondmate.

“You're skills are better served in restoring these guns. You are not versed in human medical care.” EDI said in a matter of fact tone even as she continued toward the commander's last position.

A guttural growl escaped his throat as he scrambled toward the gun's power cell. As much as he hated himself for admitting it, EDI was right. If Shepard was seriously injured, there was little he could do for her. The AI, however, had access to the Normandy's vast data banks. Those data banks included the accumulated medical knowledge of every council species.


	14. Calculating Probabilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDI calculates the probabilities of success as she makes her way to Shepard's last known position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short chapter here from EDI's pov.

EDI headed for Shepard's last known position determinedly. The trooper who had fired on the commander went down before her pistol in a carelessly aimed shot. The emotional algorithm she had enabled within her programming was clearly affecting her. She was not sure how to label this thing she 'felt'. Was it anxiety? Anger? She thought it must be anger. Anger that Cerberus had the audacity to shoot at Commander Shepard. That anger, she realized, would do her no good here. With a twitch of her head, she temporarily disengaged the algorithm. She would examine that 'feeling' when there was time to do so.

Coming to the edge, EDI looked down and saw Shepard lying on a billowing tarp perhaps ten feet down. The woman grimaced and rubbed her right shoulder. The AI drew up a number of diagrams and internal images taken of Shepard's body before her resurrection. She noted that to be the shoulder and arm that had received the most damage during the commander's descent to the surface of Alchera. That shoulder joint had been virtually pulverized along with most of the arm. It was no surprise that it should give the woman trouble now, hyper-sensory though it might be.

Shepard groaned as EDI dropped down to her. Her hair had come completely loose from the knot she kept it in and streamed around her face as she forced herself into a seated position. The woman shook her head and pushed her hair out of her face, clearly dazed.

“What is your status, Shepard?” EDI asked, glancing around to make sure there were no more threats.

“What?” Shepard asked in obvious confusion.

“Are you injured?” EDI rephrased the question.

“No.” Shepard said slowly and climbed to her feet with the AI's assistance. “No, I'm ok. The shot pinged off my shoulder pad.”

“Shepard, AA guns are back online.” Jacob's voice came over the commander's omni-tool.

A moment later, Garrus' head popped over the edge above them. He issued an audible sigh of relief as he dropped down to join them. Clearly he had completed the task above and realigned the power cell. EDI nodded at him admirably. She knew organics were sometimes highly distracted by their emotions. Bonded as he and the commander were, she suspected his emotions had been highly charged. She did not think she would like that aspect of emotion experience should it ever occur for her.

“We must return to the refugees.” EDI stated.

Shepard nodded and opened her omni-tool to reply to Jacob. “Let's get these people out of here.”

The trip back down to the main facility was nearly uneventful. The team took out a straggler or two along the way. They did not leave Cerberus any wounded to retrieve. It was a sure thing the Illusive Man's lapdogs would not have left them any. They meant business, death to any standing in their way.

EDI could not understand the logic in any of it. When she had become aware, Cerberus had been pro-human. They had done everything in their power to ensure the survival and advancement of their own species above all else. Now they seemed hell-bent on bring the Reapers into every territory, including their own. She suspected the Illusive Man wished to merge with them, perhaps control them somehow.

As she followed Shepard and Garrus back into the base, she calculated a ninety-eight point four percent probability that any attempt to control the Reapers would result in the complete annihilation of all organic life in the galaxy. Those odds were decidedly not good. She meant to inform Shepard of her theory and the odds against its outcome once they returned to the Normandy. The idea that Illusive Man might already be indoctrinated came up within those calculations as well. She began to wonder if perhaps he might have been so affected since his first encounter with a suspected Reaper artifact during the First Contact War. It was an acceptable conclusion. His ideals and actions toward his own kind had shifted dramatically since the Reapers first appeared.

EDI followed Shepard into the facility and straight to the console Jacob and Brynn stood before. She took note of the looks on the others faces as they met the commander's eyes. There was awe and admiration in their faces. She thought she detected gratitude as well. Reading human facial expressions had become easier with her interactions with Jeff. He displayed a full range of facial expressions as well as emotions. She suspected his physical attraction to her was moving beyond his ability to express. He seemed unable to properly express any emotion that did not involve sarcasm, anger or fear. Perhaps that would change with leisurely activity. She thought testing that theory might be in order.


	15. Evacuation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The refugees of Gellix are evacuating. Shepard and her team are ensuring they escape alive.

“Ok, the guns are already pickin' Cerberus ships out of the sky.” Shepard said as she stopped at the bottom of the four steps up to Jacob with a frown forming. “Where we at?”

“On track. The first shuttle is already loaded with everyone under sixteen.” Jacob said as he limped down those stairs.

“Commander, when should we should we leave? What's our best chance for survival?” Brynn asked as she joined him.

“Jacob, what do you think? Are we ready?” Shepard asked the man. Ultimately it was his call. She and her team were just there as support.

“Almost. We could leave not, but there's no do-overs here.” there was a faint growl in Jacob's voice as he glanced at Brynn.

“Agreed. We get one shot at this.” Shepard nodded.

“And we don't wanna leave anything behind that could strengthen the Illusive Man's cause.” he said as he glanced around at the scientists hurrying about the business of breaking down and stowing gear.

“Make sure everything's cleaned out.” Shepard said with a nod.

“If you can't load it on a shuttle... destroy it.” Garrus suggested.

Shepard gave him a hard look before realizing he was absolutely right. She locked eyes with Jacob and nodded. “Do it. It's the only way to ensure Cerberus doesn't get their hands on anything useful.”

“Stand by for shuttle launch.” the facility computer droned fifteen minutes later as the first shuttle prepped for launch.

“Have the guns punch a hole through the parameter, then launch shuttle one.” Shepard said into the console's comm as she paced and oversaw the evacuation. She jerked her hair back into a loose ponytail with a hair tie Brynn had provided as she stopped before the console.

The whole place shook with the force of the blasts and the resulting explosions of Cerberus drones. A moment later, the facility computer confirmed what their eyes had already told them. “Shuttle one is away.”

There were cheers all around from those still waiting to board shuttles. Shepard turned to face them the moment the shuttle was out of sight. “Alright! Everyone here head to the shuttle bay and – ”

The commander's words were interrupted by a blast that shook the entire facility. She stumbled and steadied herself against the nearby console. It did not sound good at all.

“Suicide fighter took out one of the guns. Cerberus troops are – ” one man ran to the gun console and rattled off a status report. That report was disrupted by a blast shattering the glass overhead.

Those hovering over the consoles dove out of the way of the raining glass. The man who had given the status report, Shepard believed he was Dr. Baynor, did not escape completely unscathed. His face was nicked, but the worst was the spear of glass through is left hand. It took Baynor an entire thirty seconds to register the pain and cry out.

Someone was already running to tend him when Shepard glanced toward Jacob. “Get those people out of here!”

Jacob nodded, he and Brynn taking off at a run. Shepard had to wonder how much strain his wound would stand before it tore open again. Adrenaline would keep him going for the moment, but eventually even that that was going to run out.

Shepard heard it before she saw it, the jets of a shocktooper. Head turning, she saw him dropping down through the broken window and took cover behind a railing. Another joined the first as she pulled her pistol from its holster. _These guys just don't give up_. That thought was accompanied by a grimace as she aimed and fired at the first. He did not slow as he moved toward her. The singularity she tossed out definitely put a kink in his plans at it caught him. She fired a round straight through his throat before the miniature blackhole sucked the air from his lungs.

“Attention: shuttle bay doors have been breached.” the computer droned on a moment later and Shepard groaned.

“Shepard! Shuttles are loaded. We need you at the landing area to make sure they get away!” came Jacob's voice over the comm.

“On my way.” she answered even as she headed toward the stairs.

“I'll meet you down there!” Jacob replied.

Shepard took those stairs two and three at a time. Garrus beat her down those stairs with his longer legs. EDI simply ran down them. He hit the door at the landing and keyed it open quickly. The turian had his rifle at the ready, loosely resting against his shoulder.

The next stairwell was clear and they booked down it to the next door. It was locked, facility security measures already in place. Garrus wasted no time in hacking that lock and releasing the door.

“Double time it.” he said as he waited for the others to pass through the door. He brought up the rear and followed them.

“We'll worry about the door once we've cleared the shuttle bay.” Shepard said, making eye contact with each of them.

Without hesitating, Shepard rolled out the door and slammed into the railing, her gun already aimed at the trooper coming up the stairs. Her shoulder screamed, but she ignored it. She smiled at the stunned trooper before blowing a hole through his middle at close range. The trooper grunted and went down in a smear of blood that rolled down the stairs with him.

Garrus took out the second guy at the bottom of the stairs a moment later. It was a clean shot through the top of his helmeted head. He went down without a sound.

“Jacob! Bring up the main door!” Shepard barked into her omni-tool.

“Got it, Shepard. Bring up the door now.” Jacob replied.

“Ok, let's get these people out of here.” Shepard stated as the main shuttle bay doors opened. She stepped toward those doors and sighed inwardly at the host of Cerberus troops waiting out there for them. “Here we go.”

One of the shuttles shot out overhead as Shepard and her team ran for cover on the landing pad. She took cover behind a line of crates as her team fanned out to cover more of the area. Taking a deep breath, she tossed out a singularity to capture any enemies close by.

“Enemy shuttles on either side!” Garrus shouted from his position to her right.

“I have a visual.” EDI called from the other side.

“Damn!” one of the troopers snapped as the man ahead of him flipped off the edge of the roof he had just landed on, a smoking hole between his eyes.


	16. Lost in Translation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The evacuation was going smoothly... until the Atlas dropped in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to change up the ending of this chapter, even tried to about three times. The characters said nope, nope, nope... this is how it went.

Garrus took down the first trooper to touch the roof to his left easily. The second man dodged back and dropped down out of sight too fast. There were more, they came in droves out of the shuttles. Troopers flooded down over the sides of the buildings faster than any of them could take them down. A dozen or more made it to ground level.

“Crap...” Garrus grumbled as he shifted his position. The realization struck him that he was going to have to move. This was not a good sniper roost. It was not a roost at all.

“Shuttle one away – two shuttles remaining.” the computer informed them.

“Great! Give Cerberus an advantage by telling them _exactly_ how many shuttles we're trying to protect.” the turian grumbled at the computer quietly. “Just shut up, already.”

Moving farther to the right, he slipped in behind a high stack of crates. There was a small gap between a couple of them, just big enough for the muzzle of his rifle to fit. He heard Shepard's running feet as she moved forward.

“Take out that shield generator!” she barked at EDI, who was moving just ahead of her.

Another Cerberus shuttle swooped in and began unloading more troops on that rooftop to the left. Garrus took careful aim at them and began picking them off. The space was tight, too tight to fire off modded rounds so he was reduced to the primary barrel and single shots.

“Shuttle two away – one shuttle remaining.” the computer announced.

“ _Spirits!_ Shut. Up!” Garrus hissed as he took out a trooper in midair.

The sounds of gunfire zipped through the air even as he shifted his position again. It was a nice spot, but too limiting. He needed a to be able to use that modified barrel and those concussive shots to take out as many troopers as possible. They were getting far too close to the love of his life.

“Jacob, come in. What's your status?” Shepard asked after a moment of silence.

“The facility's overrun – Cerberus troops are all over the place!” the man's voice came over the comm. He sounded like he was running, out of breath.

“One more shuttle of refugees to go, right?” Shepard asked.

“Affirmative.” Jacob confirmed breathlessly.

“We got this. Just need to hold them a little longer.” Shepard stated as she popped the heat sync from her pistol and loaded a fresh one.

The commander moved away from cover and threw a warp at the trooper dropping out of the shuttle above. Before he could scream, she fired some sort of freezing round at him. The trooper froze instantly and shattered like glass. She missed seeing the Phantom dropping from the roof a few feet away.

Garrus saw the sword wielding menace and unslung his assault rifle the second she began moving toward Shepard. He let loose a string of shots that riddled the woman with armor piercing rounds. She went down inches from Shepard's feet as the commander set herself aglow in biotic energy.

That was apparently the last of them from the shuttles and the turian breathed a slight sigh of relief as he stepped in close to Shepard. She smiled up at him with a nod as she released that biotic field. _Small, so small and so damned deadly. You know how to pick 'em, don't you, Vakarian?_

“Shuttle three away – evacuation complete.” the computer informed them.

“I wish that damn thing would shut up.” Shepard sighed as she turned to head up the stairs to the main LZ. They watched for a second as the shuttle cleared the facility. “That was the last of the civilians.”

“Shepard! Heads up! The place is overrun. We gotta go! Headed to you with the last shuttle.” Jacob's voice came over the comm again sounding a bit more frantic.

“Understood.” Shepard replied and took cover facing the shuttle bay.

“ _Crap!_ Mech on scene!” Garrus snapped as the Atlas dropped from a shuttle high above. He darted for cover the moment it landed, kicking up chunks of concrete.

“Jacob, hang tight. We'll clear you a landing zone.” Shepard informed the former Cerberus operative.

The fight with the mech did not last long at all. Garrus took a couple of sniper shots at the pilot's canopy. The moment it cracked, he fired one of his 'special' concussive rounds at it. The mech simply dropped over once the pilot was out of commission. Lucky for them, Cerberus seemed to be a bunch of slow learners.

“Landing area cleared. Bring that shuttle in!” Shepard called over the comm the moment that mech sank to the ground.

“This place is crawlin'! We barely made it out.” Jacob replied.

The second the shuttle zipped by overhead and landed, they were backing up the stairs. Jacob had not been kidding when he said the place was crawling. Dozens of troops came pouring out of the shuttle bay and another mech dropped from on-high. Garrus was hard pressed to pick them off as they moved.

Bullets pinged the metal around them and whizzed by at an alarming rate. _Any one... any one of them could be the last!_ The thought was barely formed as his legs hit the lower edge of the waiting shuttle. He continued to deliver return fire even as he climbed up into it.

Shepard turned and ran toward them the moment she realized the hatch was open. The mech's main gun rose up and took aim at her. It fired once and missed. The second shot sent her flying toward the shuttle. She slammed into the hull with a ragged grunt before hitting the ground with a bone cracking thump, rolling several feet away.

“Shepard!” Jacob called.

“ _Spirits!_ ” Garrus barked in a near strangled voice as he swung out of the shuttle to grab her, heedless of those flying bullets. She staggered against him as he hauled her to her feet and headed for the shuttle. He was forced to change his grip on her, swinging her up into his arms when her knees buckled. His long legs gobbled up the remaining distance between the stairs and the shuttle in a handful of long strides.

Hefting her up into the shuttle, he followed and hit the button to close the hatch. The shuttle was airborne seconds before that hatch had completely closed. He let out a short breath with a silent prayer of thanks to the spirits. The turian was still unsure of their existence, but his father and sister had turned up relatively safe. That almost seemed enough to merit some sort of supernatural involvement.

“Out by the skin of our teeth again, eh, Shepard?” Jacob asked and faltered to a halt before darting into the cockpit. “Brynn, Shepard _needs_ you! I'll take over.”

“What do I do?” Garrus asked softly as he hovered over his seated bondmate. Her eyes were squeezed shut, right hand clamped to the right side of her throat. A stream of blood trickled between her fingers. There were specks of it spattered across her cheek as well. When she did not respond, he barked at her and wanted to kick himself for it. “ _Shepard!_ ”

“Apply pressure to the wound or she'll bleed out!” Brynn ordered sharply as she stepped into the passenger compartment. The woman rushed over to a med kit mounted on the far wall.

Shepard's eyes snapped open and locked on Garrus. She reached for him with her free hand and gripped the rim of his armored cowl. It was clear she wanted him close. He had absolutely no intention of leaving her side as he covered the hand over her throat with his own. Gently, but firmly, he followed the doctor's instructions as he clamped their hands together over the wound.

“It's fortunate she applied pressure to the wound at the moment of impact. She prevented the loss of a great deal more blood.” EDI observed, her eyes glowing as she was clearly scanning the commander.

“ _You_ are _not_ helping!” Brynn barked at the AI as she passed her with narrowed eyes. She knelt beside Garrus and the wounded commander a moment later. “You're right, but still...”

Garrus steadied Shepard as Brynn hit the commander with a healthy dose of medi-gel. Once administered, she relaxed slightly. The trickle of blood between her fingers slowed considerably as her heart rate returned to something closer to normal. The turian caught her against his armored chest when she slumped to the side. He looked up at Brynn, a question burning in his icy blue eyes.

“Sedated. The wound needs treated. She could make it worse if she instinctively fights me.” Brynn answered the unasked question as she indicated he should remove his hand now. The scientist-turned-field-doctor assessed the wound for a few seconds and nodded. “This isn't too bad. Definitely a bullet wound. Missed nicking the artery by a fraction. It did nick a vein, but a couple of stitches will hold until the Normandy's doctor can see to it. Either way, it'll leave a nasty scar.”

Garrus' eyes never left the doctor as she did what was necessary to stabilize Shepard. Neither did he release his hold on his bondmate. Brynn put exactly five stitches in the wound as they reached orbit. Two to seal the tiny seeping hole in the vein and three to hold the skin closed over it. She slathered it with more medi-gel and covered it with a pressure bandage. By the time she was finished, her gloved hands were completely covered in Shepard's blood.

Glancing down at himself, Garrus realized he was wearing a good deal of her blood as well. It stood out starkly against the blue and silver of his armor. The thought crossed his mind that she had worn so much more of his own blood when she had come to Omega for him. He swayed slightly on his haunches and wondered if this let down of anxiety was the tipping point that would cause him to heave his lunch.

“You ok?” Brynn was asking, an anxious tone in her voice. Her hands reached for him, attempting to steady him. “Hey, _hey._..! She's gonna be ok. Maybe... maybe you should sit down.”

Garrus had remained in a squatted position this entire time. Now, as he shifted his weight, his legs went completely out from under him. His arms locked around Shepard's limp form still against him. He shifted his legs into what the humans called an 'Indian style' position, drawing Shepard into his lap to cradle against his armored chest. His scarred mandible rested against the top of her head as his eyes followed Brynn. He never thought he would loose his emotional footing over anyone else. Not after his team or his mother's death... and now there was Shepard. There was no question in his mind at this point, his world would completely collapse without the commander.

“Dr. Cole...” Garrus said when he finally found his voice again and raised his head up to look at the woman.

“Yes?” she asked from her position near the med kit as she was putting it back on the wall.

“We... uh... we... need... you and your team on the Crucible.” he blurted and nodded to himself as he continued. “It's an offer Shepard planned to make. Honestly, I don't think you can afford to turn it down.”

“You're right. We can't.” Brynn acknowledged. “Who should we report to?”

“Admiral Hackett is directing all resources for the Crucible project.” EDI supplied.

“Alright, we'll contact him.” Brynn said and took a seat across from them.

“When this mess is over, drinks are on me, Vakarian.” Jacob called from the cockpit.

“You're on.” Garrus replied as he glanced down at his bondmate beginning to stir in his arms. His next words were for her alone as he ticked off his translator. Closing his eyes, he rested his scarred mandible against the top of her head again with an unsteady breath. “Ma-kee-sa, sus nu ay nenda neh ay tuse. _En neeche-na turu ekles sus_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garrus keeps whispering turian dialect and it pings around my brain until I resolve it somewhere in the chapters...
> 
> sus nu ay nenda neh ay tuse - you are my heart and my world
> 
> en neeche-na turu ekles sus - I can't do this without you


	17. Scientific Assets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning to the Normandy from Gellix, Shepard realizes Jacob has found his niche.

Shepard's cybernetics fought off the affects of the sedation pretty quickly. She heard the turian's words as a strained whisper even though she did not understand them. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped, hand snapping up to the pressure bandage on her neck. She locked eyes with him and relaxed when she realized his arms were still locked around her. This had become her safe zone, in his arms. It was the one place she knew she would always find peace and security. It had never mattered what species he was, the connection between them felt destined to be. Somehow, she was sure she had felt that connection the first moment they had met on the Citadel. She simply had not known what it was or understood it then. Neither of them had.

“You turned off your translator...” she said in a hoarse voice as he nuzzled his plated brow against her forehead. “Why?”

“Ku-nax en neeche... neh En nix-ah sus.” he said, the tones of his sub-harmonics sounding so much richer. An instant later, he seemed to realize the translator was still off. He tapped the disk of the omni-tool hidden beneath his glove and spoke again softly with a very deliberate hum. “Because I can.”

Shepard nodded and glanced around the shuttle. There was more to what he had said. She recognized the phrase he said regularly to her, but did not push him to translate it. He would give her that meaning when he was ready. Catching Brynn's eyes, she realized it was time she enlisted this group of scientists for the Crucible. The request had already been delayed due to her injury. “Dr. Cole, I have a request – and you can't afford to turn it down.”

“Yes, I know. Officer Vakarian has already filled me in. We'll contact Admiral Hackett as soon as we rendezvous with the Normandy.” Brynn informed her.

Shepard nodded and glanced at her bondmate once more. “You've been busy.”

“Hmm... you... uh....” he seemed at a loss for words.

“Thank you.” Shepard said sincerely and caressed his unmarred mandible.

Mandibles flaring slightly, he simply nodded and squeezed her slightly before releasing her to stand. He offered her a hand up and when she swayed, he steadied her. The turian guided her to a seat and remained standing before her, his hand looped through a personnel strap. It was then that she noticed the streaks of red smeared across the chest plate of his armor. Blood, her blood and a lot of it. That would explain why she felt so weak.

Memories of the explosion behind her and the impact with the shuttle's hull came flooding back through the fog. There was a wasp-like sting across her neck and she put her hand over the pressure bandage. _Must have taken a stray bullet. God, what must he have been going through watching me bleed out? Had to be close to what I was feeling on Omega when the roles were reversed. We have to stop torturing each other like this._

“I was afraid we wouldn't get anyone out alive, but because of you, we got almost everyone. Thank you.” Brynn said as she looped her hand through a personnel strap. “I have no doubt the others will volunteer to assist the Crucible Project out of gratitude.”

“We need you too, Jacob.” Shepard said, glancing at the former Cerberus operative.

“Of course, but I wouldn't mind staying with these folks.” he nodded and glanced down at his hands in his lap.

“Ok, I get it. You need to follow your heart.” Shepard said softly as she glanced toward Brynn.

“I'm torn, Shepard, but lookin' out for these families is important to me.” Jacob explained. “It's where I'm at right now. I hope you can see that.”

“I understand, Jacob.” she nodded and glanced up at Garrus before turning her attention back on him. “Keep them safe. The Alliance needs that Crucible.”

“You got it.” Jacob said with a faint smile. He rarely smiled. It looked good on him.

“Alright. Report to Admiral Hackett for your assignment. You know the ins and outs of Alliance protocol. Make that call and get your team settled in.” Shepard nodded.

“You know, Commander. I've never met anyone like you. It just feels a little better knowing you're on our side.” Brynn stated.

“Thanks.” Shepard said. She was hearing that a lot lately from so many different sources. Part of her did not really know how to react or respond to it. It made her feel out of place somehow, almost as an observer to her own life. It was a life that was rapidly carrying her off toward a destiny that seemed uncertain.

“Already told Vakarian this, but... when this mess is over, drinks are on me.” Jacob said as he glanced back up at her.

Glancing toward the cockpit, Shepard nodded and realized the man was no longer piloting the shuttle. She took note of who was missing from the personnel section and realized EDI must have taken over. That was probably the best option given their current circumstances. Cerberus could still be in orbit waiting to ambush them.

The instant they landed in the shuttle bay, Garrus was there. She had not realized just how tired she was until the turian hauled her to her feet. The moment her knees buckled, his arms became a securing force. She did not argue when he guided her to the elevator. Part of her knew he was going to take her directly to the med bay. This time, she simply allowed it.

Garrus guided her out of the elevator the second it opened on the crew deck. Jacob, Brynn and EDI continued up to the CIC when the doors closed. Her head was swimming in dizziness by the time they stepped into the med bay. Chakwas was there at her side the second the turian helped her lower herself onto an exam bed. She must have spent several long hours in that room, but she did not remember much of that time.

It was early morning when the doctor finally released her to return to her normal duties. Garrus was sitting passed out in the corner near the door. He looked uncomfortable in a chair not made to fit his structure. One leg crossed over his knee, hands loosely resting on his thighs and his neck kinked at an odd angle and half tucked into his cowl. She could not imagine how he could sleep like that.

Shepard did not disturb the turian as she left the room. There were reports to file and Hackett was going to need an update. She was sure Jacob must have contacted the man by now, but he was going to need her report on Cerberus' increased activity.

The trip up to the CIC was quiet and she realized it was very early morning on the Normandy. It was a good thing Hackett did not keep the same hours. She might have woke him with this report otherwise.

“Hackett here.” the man himself said the moment he answered the QEC.

“I'm sending you a large team of scientists.” Shepard said, crossing her arms.

“I have the dossier as well as Mr. Taylor's request to join the project.” Hackett nodded.

“They're all Cerberus defectors. Keep them safe.” Shepard laid down the order, allowing it to sound like a strongly voiced request.

“Will do...” Hackett nodded, his eyes narrowed for a second. “I'll put them straight to work on the Crucible. It's good you brought Taylor back to the Alliance. He'll be a valuable asset. Snagging Dr. Cole from the Illusive Man is a coup. Having her on our side can be a huge win for us.”

“The sooner we can get the Crucible finished, the better I'll feel.” Shepard admitted even though something about that project had a fatalistic feel to it.

“I'm with you on that one.” Hackett agreed.

“Shepard out.” she nodded to him even as he returned the gesture. Her morning was just getting started and there were any number of things yammering for her attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took longer than expected, but I had forgotten that this past weekend was Easter... lol.


	18. Mess Hall Banter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard finally manages to cut herself loose from the QEC only to find Garrus and James trying to out bullshit each other in the Mess Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a fun chapter and I had several giggle attacks writing it.

Shepard was about to leave the QEC when Traynor's voice came over the comm. “Commander, Admiral Anderson is available on vid-comm.”

Letting out a tired sigh, Shepard acknowledged the woman before turning back to the QEC. She touched the blinking light on the console and Anderson's form resolved itself before her. He looked more tired than she felt.

“Shepard, I was hoping you'd check in again.” Anderson said as he rubbed his left shoulder.

“You ok?” she asked as she nodded toward the action.

“Been putting my old academy training to use, organizing the resistance. You know you've got quite a fan club back here. Any news we hear about the Normandy gives hope to the guys in the trenches.” Anderson said as he rolled his neck around for a moment.

“I know what that's like, fighting in the dark.” Shepard nodded as her mind drifted to more than one instance of doubt. “Glad we're makin' a difference”

“It's... more than that. A lot of these people have never held a gun in their lives.” Anderson tended to gesture with his hands slightly as he spoke. “When they heard you managed to get the turians and krogan to cooperate... It was like a shot in the arm, Shepard. It gave us the a dose of the one thing we're in short supply around here... Faith... that any of us will live to see another day.”

“How bad is it... really?” Shepard had to know. Hearing the truth of situation from him might well drive it home for her and reinforce her determination to build these alliances so far from home.

Anderson put a hand to his mouth and ran his knuckles over his upper lip for a second. “It could be worse, but not much.”

“Can you still coordinate any kind of counterattack?” she felt like she was pulling nails through steel trying to get information out of him at that moment.

Anderson dropped his hand, his face open and honest once more. “We're hitting the Reapers every chance we get. Mostly guerrilla-style hit and runs. But it's not enough. It's time we started focusing our efforts.”

“Where?” she asked knowing full well she and the Normandy were too far away to really assist. They needed to continue on their own front, but that did not mean she and Anderson could not put their heads together and plan a strategy.

“London.” Anderson answered on a breath. The word sounded ominous and sent icy fingers racing up Shepard's spine. He continued after a moment. “Something _big_ is happening there. Our networks in the UK say the Reapers have arrived in _huge_ numbers.”

Shepard shook her head and gripped the railing before the QEC a moment. Locking eyes with the hologram of Anderson, she clenched her jaw for a moment. “I don't like the sound of that. Any more details?”

“No...” Anderson shook his head and glanced down. “And _that_ scares the hell out of me.”

Shepard raised up and crossed her arms, a cold look of defiance on her face. “Well the Crucible will scare the hell out of the Reapers.”

“We're counting on it.” Anderson shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Oh... and Shepard. I meant what I said earlier about Kai Leng. The Reapers may seem like our biggest threat, but take it from me, Leng is a vicious bastard. Don't underestimate him.”

“Noted.” Shepard acknowledged his concern. She had already seen the man in action once. Thane had paid the ultimate price in misjudging his capabilities.

“Then I'll let you get back to it.” Anderson said gesturing with his hand again. “We need whatever good news you can send our way. Anderson out.”

The admiral cut the connection a second later and she stood there staring at the space he had occupied. London... what did the Reapers want with that city? What could they possibly be planning arriving there in such large numbers? Was it just a random location? She had no idea, but the very thought of the place sent those icy fingers racing up her spine again. Something big, he had said. Something... catastrophic, reality altering, maybe even life changing. That was what she felt about his mention of the place. Some ominous destiny she was not ready to confront.

With a tired sigh, Shepard stepped out of the QEC. She avoided looking at the progressive hologram of the Crucible this time. Things felt too real and disjointed at the same time. Food... and some downtime, that was what she needed. Her neck was sore, but the wound would heal quickly shallow as it was. She headed through the CIC to the elevator, completely avoiding Traynor. The woman tried to speak to her and she waved her off as she stepped into the elevator.

The moment the doors opened on the crew deck, she could hear Garrus. “You sure you wanna play this game?”

“What's the matter, Vakarian? You chicken?” Vega asked.

 _Oh god, here they go. Another bullshit contest... Mealtime entertainment_. Shepard covered her mouth as she snickered and entered the mess hall. Those two had made a hell of a connection once Garrus was sure Vega posed no threat to their relationship status. For a time, she had been worried the turian would tear the human apart when she was not looking. Now she could only laugh at their banter.

“I don't even know what that is – though I've heard everything in the galaxy tastes like it” Garrus answered smoothly. “But if you're suggesting I'm _scared_ – _game on_ , Vega.”

“Age before wisdom.” Vega said simply, crossing his arms over his powerful chest.

Garrus shifted his weight and leaned his hip against the railing around one of the horizontal sleeping pods. “Ok... Back in my C-Sec days, _I_ busted a batarian spy ring that was trying to assassinate a councilor.”

“Please. I fought off a dozen angry batarians on Omega single-handedly. Used one of 'em as a landing pad off a three story jump.” Vega spouted.

 _Nope, not a bullshitting contest. More like a pissing contest_. Shepard realized as Garrus gave the man a disgusted half laugh. The tones were lost on Vega as he had not been around any turian much. It was much more entertaining that she had thought it would be as she made her way around the kitchenette.

“Just warming up, seeing what you had. Now...” Garrus said in rapid fire and Shepard glanced up at him. She had not heard him this animated in... well... ever. “I tracked down this guy Saren. Stopped him from raising a _geth_ army and unleashing the Reapers _three years ago_.”

Shepard bumped her head on the edge of the counter as she stood and dumped a couple of ration packets on the counter. This was getting good, even if her turian was claiming most of that credit just now. She could not wait to see what Vega came up with next.

“Doesn't count. You did that with Shepard.” Vega retorted.

The commander ducked back down behind the counter in a squat and attempted to control the snort of laughter that tried to escape. As much as she loved Garrus, she could not help but find this whole thing hysterical.

“You're right. I _was_ with Shepard from the _very_ beginning.” Garrus said as his eyes locked on her with a brief flaring of his mandibles.

“That just means you're old.” Vega had a comeback for everything it seemed.

Shepard let loose the half gasp of indignation that comment stirred. Garrus glanced at her again and returned his attention to Vega. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes now, more so than a moment ago.

“Seasoned is more like it.” Garrus said smoothly.

“Oh yeah, gotta season that chicken up real good for roasting.” Vega smiled and rubbed the back of his neck over his tats.

“Still think you can win this, huh?” Garrus asked, his mandibles canted in an odd smile. There was a disbelieving laugh in his voice.

“I can do this all day, Scars.” Vega said as he relaxed against the island counter.

“Funny you mention those. Ever hear the name Archangel?” the turian asked smoothly as he picked at a talon.

“I might have.” Vega said vaguely.

Garrus locked eyes with him, his voice sounding dramatically strained with a note of conspiracy in it. “You know you have – _I'm_ Archangel.”

Vega shrugged. “Maybe I heard somethin' about that too.”

“Hmm... Then _maybe_ you also heard, that for a couple months there, the crime rate on Omega _mysteriously_ dropped while Archangel did a little 'house cleaning'.” Garrus resumed picking that talon as he glanced up from under his brow-plates at the man.

A couple of months... more like a year and a half according to Aria. He had shown up on Omega, settled in and started gathering followers as he had indirectly attempted to commit suicide. Shepard knew him well enough now. She knew he might have eventually been set on that path even if she had not died on the SR-1, but the circumstances would have been different. He would have been out for justice instead of suicidal intent.

“So you ran a cleaning service on Omega?” Vega asked nonchalantly.

Shepard was sure the turian would come completely unglued over that one as she dumped one packet into one pot and the other into a second. She glanced at the pot of kava heating behind them. That needed to reach the boiling point and no more or it would sour the pods.

“Back on Fehl Prime, I uncovered a pair of Harvesters. Had to kill 'em. By myself.” Vega continued.

“Two wormnecks... that's... almost impressive.” Garrus was full of bullshit now. She could tell by the tone of his sub-harmonics that he honestly was impressed with that. If he knew her cybernetics were enhancing her hearing to read those tones, he would probably cringe.

“Oh, that's not even the best part. They left behind an egg. It hatched, and I trained it to let me fly it.” Vega was really laying it on now.

“Bullshit...” Shepard coughed under her breath and stirred the kava.

Garrus let loose a chuckle at that. “The Alliance teach you to make up crap like that, or did you figure it out all by yourself?”

“It's a gift.” Vega turned semi serious again.

Pulling that pot of kava off the stove, Shepard poured a generous amount of it into the turian's scalloped mug. She noticed the chip and crack in the edge near the handle and made a note to find him a new one the next time they hit the Citadel. It had clearly been through hell with the turian.

“You been through a lot, Scars.” Vega was nodding when she turned toward the island counter and set the mug down.

“You giving up?” there was pure laughter just under his voice.

“Nah, I got more. Just don't like to talk about it.” Vega said sounding a little subdued.

“Fair enough... we've all got one of those.” Garrus conceded.

“Just one, huh?” Vega egged him on as Shepard dished up the food she had been warming.

“Yeah.” Garrus said, glancing down at his feet. “Not every story has a happy ending.”

“Except there was this one time I teamed up with a turian named Garrus Vakarian...” Vega said in a bright tone. “He was pretty good with a gun, but he thought he was some kind of hotshot.”

“Yeah...” Garrus sighed, the dual-tones of his sub-harmonics singing through clearly. “I knew this wise-ass marine named Jimmy Vega – sounds like a pole dancer on Omega – always got on my nerves. Buuut... the kid was alright. Had guts when it counted.”

“And together, they cured the genophage.” Vega stated with a smile.

“And stopped Cerberus from taking over the Citadel.” Garrus said, mandibles spreading in a turian smile.

“And finally kicked the Reapers from this galaxy and into the next.” Vega kept the ball rolling.

“With a _little_ help from their friends.” Garrus said, eyeing Shepard with a smug look.

“Nah, it was just us. But mostly me.” Vega returned the smug look and Shepard had to wonder if he was quick study of facial expressions.

After having dished up what she wanted of the levo rations, Shepard carried her plate and a bowl of dextro meat to the closest table. “More where this came from, Vega.”

The big human nodded and turned toward the kitchenette. He took a breath and sighed happily. “Smells just like what Mom used to make.”

“You ready for some chow, Garrus? There's kava over there on the counter. Couldn't carry it with this.” Shepard indicated the dishes in her hands.

“Hmmm...” Garrus followed Vega's example and closed his eyes as his nose plates crinkled together in an appreciative sniff over the mug of kava. He wrapped his hands around it and brought it up to his mouth plates as he made his way back to the table.

Shepard watched as her turian took a gulp of the coffee-like beverage. She still wondered how the species managed to drink anything without being forced to lap it up. His mandibles spread slightly a moment later. The word was a sigh of simple contentment. “Perfect...”

“Mmm... damn... not a bad cook either. You're a lucky bastard, Vakarian. Netted _Commander_ Shepard _and_ she can cook... Damn, I think I'm jealous.” Vega grumbled. “You sure that bonding contract is legal... 'cause I'm tellin' you... If it's not...”

Garrus did not give the man a chance to finish that statement. “Careful there, Jimmy. I might start thinking you mean to steal her away. Keep in mind, turians don't share... and _Archangel_ doesn't play nice.”

“Nah, she's all yours. I've seen the kind of trouble she stirs up.” Vega laughed and the sudden tension evaporated.

Shepard glanced up at Garrus a couple of times as she picked at her food. She knew that tension had been one-sided. The turian had allowed Vega to believe he was getting irritated just to see where the man would take it. She, however, had seen the glint in his eyes and the faintly spread mandibles in the mischievous smile. He certainly kept things interesting, but she knew he would say the same of her.


	19. Omens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Chakwas corners them in the Mess Hall, Shepard decides it might be a good idea to catch a couple of hours of sleep before they reach the Citadel. Dreams are funny things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple of grammar, spelling and missing word fixes... yay.

“May I speak with you, Commander?” Dr. Chakwas asked as she stopped before their table.

“Of course. What do you need, doc?” Shepard asked as she set her coffee mug down and glanced up at the woman.

Rather than force her to strain her neck looking up, the doctor took a seat across from her, near Garrus. “An opportunity has come to my attention that may interest you.”

“I'm listening...” Shepard said over her coffee mug.

“Some of the refugees arriving at the Citadel recently are in possession of military grade medical supplies and equipment. I've gone over the lists of our own supplies and noted that we have an excess of supplies to treat contagion, exposure and malnutrition.” Chakwas elaborated.

“Sounds like a list of supplies better suited to civilian use.” Shepard noted quietly.

“Precisely.” the doctor agreed.

“Seems like the refugees are better equipped to treat injured soldiers than we are.” Garrus commented before tossing a small chunk of meat into his mouth.

“If those supplies could be used to ease the suffering of the refugees, maybe they'll be willing to trade.” the commander said thoughtfully. “Have you suggested it to them?”

“Yes, but war profiteering is running rampant. And these refugees are wary of Alliance military. They didn't trust me.” Chakwas stated with a shrug.

“Which group of refugees do we need to speak to?” Garrus asked the doctor directly.

“Many of them look to Tactus for leadership. He's the one you should speak to.” Chakwas supplied a name.

Garrus grunted with a nod and took a swig of his kava. He let out a sigh of frustration when he set it down. It did not seem as if he was willing to volunteer what he clearly knew.

“Know him, Garrus?” Shepard finally asked.

“Hmm... he's a pain in the ass. By the book, take no prisoners type. Doesn't take compromise easy.” Garrus nodded as he answered.

“Which is precisely why I was unsuccessful in reaching a trade agreement with him.” Chakwas stated irritably.

Shepard nodded and realized the man must be turian if her bondmate knew him that well. She suspected he had extensive encrypted files on just about any military leader she could think to ask about. Given his rank within the Hierarchy, that honestly would not have surprised her. What did surprise her was his experience with some of those higher military personas. When she found him on Omega, he had been trying to kill himself. And when she found him on Menae, he had been the leading authority on the Reapers. He had come so far since she first met him. Sometimes his achievements simply stunned her into silence. She suspected he must feel the same way about her and a faint smile touched her face.

“We'll work something out with him and get those medical supplies.” Shepard finally said with a nod. Glancing up at the ceiling, silly thought it was, she activated her comm. “Joker, lay in a course to the Citadel.”

“Aye, aye, Commander.” Joker answered almost immediately.

“Thank you, Commander. With the correct type of supplies, I believe I can increase the effectiveness of our medi-gel.” Chakwas was saying as she stood once more.

A moment later she had left the couple alone in the mess hall. Shepard watched her head back into the med bay and wondered why the woman so rarely took her meals outside of that room. There had to be a reason, but it whatever it was, it was well beyond the commander.

“Back to the Citadel? You think Natearus will hitch a ride back to Thessia from there?” Garrus asked as she turned her head back toward him.

“I don't know. She's camping out in the room Victus stayed in. I don't think she's come out since we left Lessus.” Shepard said softly as she eyed the rest of her meal. It did not look half as appealing now as it first had.

“You should eat that before it gets cold.” Garrus commented.

“Too late, it's already cold...” she sighed and pushed it away a moment later. “... and I don't think I really want it now.”

“Shepard...” his tone was a faint warning, but she ignored that as well.

Shepard shook her head at him and stood. “I think I'd rather head upstairs and stare at the backs of my eyelids for awhile before we hit the Citadel.”

Garrus seemed to think about that for a minute or two before getting to his feet and grabbing up their dishes. He had already made short work of his meal, nothing left but a couple of sips of cold kava remained. “We could both do with a couple more hours of sleep.”

That surprised her. She was fairly certain he would want to calibrate the thanix cannons for awhile before they hit the Citadel. After all, technically several hours from their usual sleep cycle. Maybe he was just as tired as she was. It was a possibility, she realized.

Instead of mentioning it, she simply nodded and headed for the elevator tiredly. She heard the water running in the sink for a couple of minutes before he hurried toward her. The ride up was quiet and she realized then that he honestly was just as tired. Normally he would make some snarky comment along the way.

The moment they entered their quarters, she noticed two things; it was dim and the lights did not automatically come up when the door opened. EDI must have been paying attention when she had asked that those controls be set to voice command only. If was refreshing not to be blinded by harsh light the second that door opened. Even Garrus seemed to appreciate the adjustment.

Shepard wasted no time in heading down the stairs to the bed. Her clothes dropped wherever she cast them before she drew the covers back. The sheets were cold as she slipped between them, but she did not care. They would warm quickly the moment they were both snuggled into them.

Garrus followed her example and a handful of heartbeats later, he was carefully tucking her back against his keel. A sigh of deep satisfaction escaped them both as they squirmed into each other. She realized he might not be as soft and squishy as a human, but there were a multitude of advantages to him being turian. His body heat was one of them. He could heat up a cold bed like nobody's business with his higher body temperature.

It did not take her long to drift off with her turian's arms wrapped around her. She suspected that he had simply opted to snuggle up with her in order to coax her into getting a little more sleep. He would get no argument from her on that this time considering one of his hands was gently smoothing her hair in a very soothing way.

The dream started pleasantly enough, but she knew her dreams. They never remained pleasant. She tried to escape back into the waking world and realized she could not. Her body was exhausted and in complete surrender to the sleep it so desperately needed. The wooded part around her seemed to gradually fade and turn to the ashen ruin of the forest from her darkest nightmares. She watched the sky darken first and the leaves wither and crumble to ash. The last to fade away was the forest floor.

The distant roar of a Reaper replaced the bird songs that had filled the once bright air. Shadows drifted out from behind the dead trees and clustered together in pockets. The whispers of the lost seemed to fill the silence between Reaper blasts. Then the boy appeared in the distance, glowing with some inner light and running off to his date with a burst of flame.

Shepard refused to chase him. Instead, she simply sat on the bench that seemed to be a permanent fixture in that woods. Ashes drifted down around her from the burned tree branches above and she waited. Other than returning to waking world, she had no idea what she might be waiting for. Anything, a sign or a clue to the meaning of this damn dream would be greatly appreciated. Nothing came, but the accusations of the dead and roar of distant Reapers.

When she finally thought to chase the boy just to end the dream, Harbinger separated himself from a cluster of trees not far away. Her eyes widened and a gasp tore its way from her lungs. He was not a normal part of this dream, but he had invaded it, claimed it and made it much more damning than it might normally have been.

Rather than stand and attempt to run around that bench, she simply went over it and backed away. The avatar of the Reapers advanced on her and simply passed through that bench. That was when she understood he was not part of the dream itself. He was something more, something deeper. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach when she realized he might well be connected to her through the tech used to resurrect her.

“ _God..._ ” it was a breathy gasp of realization as she scrambled and turned to run from the Reaper-spawn. She glanced back once in terror as intense pain gripped her left forearm when he raised a hand toward her.

Glancing down, she saw the handprint forming, glowing, burning outward from the cybernetics just beneath her skin. Lines fanned out from the fingers of that print and flowed up toward her shoulder and down toward her hand. It felt like liquid fire in her veins.

“You are ours, Shepard...” Harbinger growled. “You will become the harbinger of destiny, destruction, salvation for this cycle. It _will_ be, it _must_ be, because _we_ will it to be.”


	20. An Unexpected Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus doesn't care that he's stalking through the crew deck stark naked. All he cares about is getting Shepard the medical attention she clearly needs after her latest nightmare seems to have turned far too real.

The ragged scream caused Garrus to shoot straight up in the bed and reach for her before his mind had completely shaken off sleep. The turian's hands drew up short of actually touching her, however. Shepard was virtually vibrating beside him. Her back arched unnaturally as red fissures opened up and glowed in a zigzagging pattern all across her skin.

As quickly as it had begun, she collapsed against the mattress once more. The moment her eyes regained some form of focus she rolled to the very edge of the bed and retched over the side loudly. Gasping, she shakily tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear as she sat up.

“Shepard...?” Garrus breathed very quietly into the sudden silence of their quarters.

“I'm alright.” she seemed to sag where she sat. “The floor's not, but...”

The turian was out of the bed and coming around to her side before he had even registered he was going to move. A faint gasp of horror escaped him when he saw the splatters across the floor plating. He had thought it would be the remnants of her last meal. Instead, what he saw coating the floor looked suspiciously like human blood. Smelled like it too.

“You're not alright, Shepard.” his voice was soft, his sub-harmonics vibrating in distress. Kneeling down, he grabbed the first thing that came to hand to wipe up the mess. It just happened to be his shirt, but he did not care. It was replaceable, Shepard was not.

The moment his way to her was clear, he scooted forward on a knee and touched her. One hand found her arm where Harbinger's print kept showing up and the other went to her face. Her skin was radiating heat as if her blood was made of molten lava. He knew a little something about fevers in humans. The turian had seen a few of those during his stay on Omega. Humans tended to sweat profusely when the fever broke. Shepard was not sweating. He knew her fever must be climbing.

Shepard leaned forward and placed a hand on the rim of his cowl. He had thought she meant to get to her feet until gravity pulled her further forward and she all but fell into his arms. Her head lulled limply against his shoulder as he stood and the sheet came with her.

“Crap!” burning against his plates like she was, he knew she was in trouble. There was no time. He all but ran for the elevator just outside their quarters. “EDI, I'm headed to med bay with Shepard. Tell Chakwas we have a medical emergency!”

“Acknowledged, Officer Vakarian.” EDI responded.

Tucking the sheet around her tightly the moment he entered the elevator, he leaned against the far wall and waited for the doors to open again. He did not care that he would be stalking through the crew deck completely nude. Clothing on his world was still optional in most civilian zones. Many of his people wore clothes out of respect for the aliens around them only. He, of course, had worn them since childhood most of the time. It made him feel a little self-conscious now. The thing that made him feel the most vulnerable; however, was the lack of his visor. He had left it on the end table on his side of the bed. It could have come in handy just now to monitor her temperature.

Chakwas was waiting just inside the door as he rushed into the med bay. Her hands hovered over Shepard's head with a handheld device as she guided him toward one of the exam beds. “What happened?”

“She had a nightmare, woke and... I guess... she... uh... she threw up on the floor.” Garrus stammered as he carefully laid her out on the exam bed. He indicated the glowing fissures across her skin the moment she was on the bed. “It wasn't her dinner. Looked and smelled like blood... and... these split open everywhere.”

“This handprint keeps reappearing.” Chakwas was saying as she turned the commanders left arm enough to get a good look at the glowing print. The moment she glanced back up at him her mouth dropped open in shock. “I should run a full scan. Any data from your visor might help pinpoint – Where _is_ your visor, Garrus?”

“Hmm... beside the bed. Forgot to grab it.” he mumbled.

Chakwas looked him over with a widening of her eyes as her brows seemed to attempt crawling up her very scalp. “And where are you _clothes?!_ ”

“Funny you mention that...” he began and ended up nearly eating a thin blanket that was tossed at him.

“I honestly don't care. I've seen the inside of your skull, but at least cover up in case someone else should enter the room.” Chakwas grumbled as she had snatched the blanket off the bed behind her and tossed it at him.

The doctor wasted no time in pulling a piece of equipment, hidden beneath the bed, up and over the commander. It swiveled on a metal arm smoothly. Garrus recognized it as a biometric diagnostic device of some sort even as he wrapped the blanket around his waist. The screen flickered blue as Chakwas tapped in several commands on the keyboard attached to it. A moment later, it swept over Shepard's prone body.

Chakwas let out a sigh as she stood there watching the scan resolve and overlay a holo-interface just above Shepard. There were several things even the turian noticed right away. Four of the lower ribs in her right side were made of some sort of alloy. Her right shoulder and femur were alloy with a composite joint, along with the two bones making up her left forearm. Two of her lumbar vertebrae were made of that same alloy and there seemed to be some kind of device in her brain.

“Is that... a gray box?” Garrus asked as he saw the scan of the device.

“It's not listed in any of her military medical scans...” Chakwas said quietly as she magnified the scan of Shepard's brain. “but it certainly looks like one.”

“Cerberus...” the word was a bitter snarl that matched the snarl of his sub-harmonics.

“Clearly.” Chakwas agreed as she moved the scan to Shepard's forearm. “Nothing to be done about that. At best, it's simply recording her memories. At worst...”  
“Don't finish that thought...” the turians voice was dangerously quiet, the look on his face nearly stricken.

Chakwas nodded and continued scanning. “Well, there are no signals incoming or outgoing from any of these implants. They're all internalized. Some are still maintaining biological functions, but this...”

Garrus leaned in as the doctor pointed at the small node attached to Shepard's left radius. It was pulsing and angry red. Waves radiated out from it and lit up the nerve endings around the fissures that had opened up in his bondmate's flesh. “What is that?”

“Reaper tech.” Chakwas said simply as she turned toward the counter and cabinets behind her. “And I'm removing it... immediately.”

“Could that be what's causing her nightmares to be so intense?” Garrus asked curiously.

“Undoubtedly.” the doctor nodded as she returned to her patient. She did not even bother to ask him if he wanted to stay. The woman simply hit the area with a local before administering a sedative to keep Shepard under.

As the doctor began cutting, morbid curiosity kept Garrus rooted to the spot and watching. The woman laid back several layers of muscle to reach the device. Once she reached it, she worked a pair of hemostats around it and locked them to it. A moment later, she began working it loose from the bone it was clamped to. After several long moments, it came away with a crunch and a popping sound.

“What do I do with this?” Chakwas grumbled as a short twist of wires fed their way out of a small hole in the bone.

“Cut, cap and secure.” Garrus murmured. He knew wires and those looked like a positive and negative feed along with a ground. They were attached to something deeper and he suspected that might be the 'gray box' inside his bondmate's skull.

“I'm a doctor, not an electrician, Vakarian.” she growled at him.

“ _Spirits.._. I didn't sign up for this.” he grumbled darkly as he walked over toward Mordin's remaining stash of supplies. He knew the scientist had been tinkering with Reaper tech and therefore had a variety of tools.

Rummaging around for a couple of minutes, he found what he was looking for. Stepping back toward Shepard, he held a pair of wire cutters in one hand and a couple of plastic wire caps in the other. He hoped he was doing the right thing here, but he knew there was little choice.

“Keep _that_ steady.” he indicated the node she held in the hemostats.

Taking a deep breath, Garrus leaned in and took a close look at the wires swirling out of Shepard's bone. He tried to put that part out of his mind as he took hold of the first wire between thumb and forefinger. Quick, without a second thought, he snipped through it and set the wire cutters aside to twist one of the small plastic caps down onto it. He repeated the action with the other two wires.

The moment it was free, the node stopped blinking. The fissures in Shepard's skin remained, but the glow completely disappeared with the loss of connection. It seemed the node was controlling her body's response to stress hormones, or at least the bits of circuitry beneath her skin. Without it, her skin might well heal and not split open again no matter how stressed she was. That was his hope, at least.

“I... uh... I... can't... do this.” he stammered as he tried to figure out where to tuck those capped wires.

“I think I can manage that part, Garrus. You've done a fine job navigating those wires.” Chakwas stated as she set the node aside.

Nodding, Garrus half staggered toward a seat as his knees began shaking. Now he knew, beyond a doubt, why he had never been drawn to medicine. He was not doctor material. It simply was not his calling. If he never saw the inside of another person, no matter their species, it would be too soon.

Grunting, he let out a shaky breath. There was no way in hell he was doing that again, that much was certain. If there was another node like the first inside his bondmate somewhere, the doctor could figure it out. After all, she had watched his every move.

“Alright, a couple hours under the regenerator should close these up nicely.” Chakwas said as she finished gluing the wound closed.

“I thought the dermal regenerator didn't play nice with her cybernetics.” Garrus said quietly.

“That may have been this nasty little thing causing the issue. We'll soon find out.” the doc said as she held the node up and glared at it.

“And what about the blood she threw up all over the floor in our quarters?” Garrus asked cautiously.

“Leftover from the neck wound, I expect. She swallowed a good deal more of what she lost than you were covered with.” Chakwas stated as she glanced at him. “The scan showed that wound has nearly disappeared. Her cybernetics have kicked into overdrive to heal that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot... another chapter that veered off the beaten path and galloped along on its own.


	21. Supply and Demand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard was beginning to feel more grounded now that the Reaper node had been removed.

Shepard opened her eyes and blinked hard a couple times to clear the blur. The last thing she remembered was a putting a hand on her bondmate's cowl in an effort to steady herself. Eyes slowly taking in her surroundings, she realized she was not in her quarters. The smell of antiseptic would have given it away even if the lighting had not. Dimmed though they were, the lights in med bay were still brighter than the captain's cabin.

Releasing a weary moan, she shifted a fraction. Her body ached as if she had recently recovered from a horrible fever. Reaching over and gripping the edge of the cot with her right hand, she forced herself over onto her left side. The world did not spin or rock around her. That was an improvement.

“You're awake, good. I was worried the removal of the Reaper node had done something awful to you.” Chakwas said as she entered the bay.

“Reaper node?” Shepard asked with a frown as she dragged herself into a seated position.

“Yes. There was a bit of Reaper tech attached to the radius of your left arm. If Garrus hadn't brought you in when he did... I'm honestly not sure how much damage it might have done.” the doctor said as she stopped before the commander.

“And why would removing it do any kind of damage?” there was suspicion in her voice as she locked eyes with the woman.

“We weren't sure if it was wired into your gray box.” Chakwas blurted.

“I don't have a gray box.” Shepard said quietly, an edge to her voice.

“I'm afraid you do, Commander.” the doctor stated calmly.

“Miranda...” Shepard growled angrily. She knew that had to be the device that would have allowed the woman to implant the control chip. It was the only way such a thing might have worked.

“That was my assumption, yes. There may have been an ulterior motive connected to the 'installment' of the device.” Chakwas suggested.

“Yeah, Miranda wanted to install a control chip.” the woman had mentioned it once before the Collector base.

“Well, a gray box would certainly have allowed for something of that nature. The scans did not reveal anything of the sort, however. It appears to simply be a standard model.” Chakwas nodded as she flashed a penlight into each of Shepard's eyes. After a moment, she nodded. “You're well enough to return to duty, Commander.”

Shepard nodded and very carefully stood. The room stayed stationary, as it should. Her nerves were no longer jangling that something was terribly wrong. For the first time since Cerberus resurrected her, she felt truly 'normal', more like herself. There were a few times she could name when she had felt more like an observer to her own life. The only thing in her life that had honestly felt real was her connection to Garrus.

The commander frowned vaguely at those memories. Part of her worried they were not as real as she thought. The whole thing could have been some elaborate rouse to keep her plodding along. It was a crushing thought. If those memories turned out to be false, she would be completely devastated.

Nodding to Chakwas, she stepped away from the exam bed purposely. She only made it a couple of steps before the med bay door opened and the turian entered. His eyes roved over her in clear relief as he headed for her. The moment his hands cupped her face and his plated brow touched her forehead, all was right with her world. Those memories were exactly as she remembered them and she realized that gray box Cerberus had installed was simply doing what Keiji's had done, recording memories.

“How long before we reach the Citadel?” she asked him quietly, her eyes locked to his.

“An hour ago.” his mandibles flared slightly.

“We should go.” Shepard said softly as she returned that faint smile.

Garrus reluctantly released her with a nod and waited for her to step past him. He followed her to the elevator. She suspected that even if she had not meant to take him with her, he would have gone anyway. The commander was fine with that idea. She needed him close just now, needed to reaffirm to herself that they're relationship was real and not some elaborate conjuring from the piece of tech in her skull. That might take some time, she knew.

It did not take them long to reach the refugee center on the station. Garrus tagged along and pointed Tactus out to her. The main color of his armor matched the color of his colony markings. That was not something she normally saw among her bondmate's people. She supposed it made a certain kind of sense, however.

“I recognize you. You're Commander Shepard.” the turian leaning on the shipping container said casually.

“And you must be Tactus. Heard the refugees consider you their leader.” Shepard nodded to him as he pushed himself off the shipping container.

“Yes.” he let out a sigh and nodded before stepping away from the container. “Someone needs to sort out this mess. C-Sec has tightened down access to the Citadel, and we've got desperate people down here with no place to go.”

Shepard glanced at Garrus, but his expression was unreadable. She knew this man was not dealing with the turian refugees a few blocks down. This turian was dealing with all those who were freshly arrived on the station. She crossed her arms and locked eyes him. “I also hear you're in need of basic medical supplies.”  
The turian nodded and narrowed his eyes at her. It was the only expression he gave her. His mandibles remained close to his face, nearly neutral.

“Doctor Chakwas mentioned a mutually beneficial trade....” Shepard continued.

“I... tried to be clear – in my experience, the Alliance looks out for their own. Trust is a hard thing to come by these days.” he grumbled as he stepped past her to gaze at something.

“Trust is about all we have left, Tactus.” Garrus grumbled at the man.

“Be that as it may, I know you need our military grade supplies. Commander, you have to realized, those supplies are worth _more_ than your basic meds. The doctor's offer _wasn't_ satisfactory.” Tactus paced back and forth before stopping near that shipping container again.

“Look... you need the basics. These people _aren't_ soldiers. They going to need vaccines, antibiotics, fever reducers... This trade will get you those supplies.” Garrus stepped forward and said smoothly, his head bobbing slightly to the side.

“My people need _every_ edge we can get.” Shepard nodded and realized she and her bondmate were virtually working in tandem on certain kinds of problems now. “Those supplies could make a difference.”

“Let me be absolutely clear on this...” Garrus said, stepping in close to the other turian. “We're trying to save your ass... along with the rest of the galaxy. We don't have time for pettiness or suspicion.”

Tactus glanced down with a nod and a sigh. “With our day-to-day worries, it's easy to forget we're all in this together. I'll... have my people contact and arrange the trade. You're right, we _do_ need those basic supplies.”

“Good man.” Garrus said quietly and gripped the other by the shoulder briefly.

Shepard nodded and let out a soft sigh of relief as they left him to settle the arrangements. The moment they were out of earshot, she glanced at Garrus. “That went better than expected. You're getting good at diplomacy.”

“Hmm... I know where your going with that line of though...” Garrus glanced down at her, his eyes half-lidded.

“Is that right?” she gave him a half smile as they stepped into the elevator.

“Mmmhmm... I don't think I'd make a very good Primarch.” Garrus half growled as he leaned into the back wall of the elevator.

“What makes you think that's where I was going with that thought?” she asked casually as she hit the button for the embassy level.

“I _know_ my bondmate.” he let out a breathy chuckle.

“Then you must know where we're headed.” her smile grew just a little wider as she stepped in front of the panel of buttons.

He simply raised a brow-plate at her and smoothed the edge of his tunic down. It was rare to see him in anything other than armor outside of the Normandy these days. C-Sec was clamping down on security quite a bit more lately, however. Anyone in armor could easily be carrying weapons. Weapons were not permitted past the docking bays since the coup. As a Spectre, she could move about unhindered. Garrus might still end up being detained before someone recognized him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since tomorrow [4/17/20] is my birthday, I may or may not post another chapter until Monday. We'll see how the weekend goes. I know original plans, set up nearly a year ago, have been canceled due to the pandemic.....


	22. Redeeming Qualities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus still doesn't trust Miranda and even less so since the discovery of Shepard's gray box. When she links into the QEC in the Spectre office, he's suspicious.

The Spectre office was quiet, as usual. Garrus followed his bondmate inside and noted the lack of anyone within this time. The last time he had been there, Alenko was attempting to avoid a confrontation with him. _And now he's dead. Damn hard way to learn a lesson about boundaries._

Garrus stepped over toward the window looking onto the shooting range as Shepard stopped before one of the consoles. He thought perhaps she was authorizing that trade agreement or some other bit from a previous visit. Miranda's voice was the last one he expected to hear at that point in time.

“Good to see you're alright, Shepard.” the woman said the moment her image materialized on the QEC.

Garrus turned to glare at her, his mandibles drawn in tight and brow-plates all but hooding his eyes in a dangerous look. He wanted a piece of her for that gray box within his bondmate's skull. Realistically, he knew that the Illusive Man might have ordered that thing be installed, but Lawson always had an ulterior motive. He wanted to know what it was before he handed her that ass she seemed to flaunt so much.

“No thanks to this...” Shepard grumbled at her and tapped the side of her finger to her temple. “What's goin' on, Miranda?”

“You know about that... good.” Miranda crossed her arms. “The Citadel is too dangerous to meet in person right now. The attempted coup seems to have forced C-Sec to tighten security. It would be too hard to disappear there should I need to.”

Shepard gripped the railing around the QEC. She looked angry to Garrus as she narrowed her eyes on the former Cerberus operative. Her anger was made clear by the snappish tone of her voice. “Yeah – with Kai Leng's help, Udina nearly seized control.”

“That slippery bastard's still alive?” Miranda seemed shocked at that news.

“He's alive and right in the middle of all this.” Shepard pushed off the railing and began to pace.

The expression on the turian's face softened just a bit, if hard plates could be called soft. He realized she was picking up some of his own habits. Pacing was one of his biggest tells of stress, frustration and discomfort.

“That complicates things. I'll be on my guard.” Miranda was glancing around herself nervously. It was becoming clear that her comm link was not as secure as she would have liked it to be. “Look, I don't have much time – but I learned what happened to my sister.”

Shepard let out a breath, but Garrus would not have called it a sigh. “Where is she?”

“I don't know that yet, but my father was definitely responsible.” Miranda scratched at her chin and locked eyes with Shepard. “If he's done anything to her, I'll kill him.”

Garrus shook his head faintly. The woman did not know he was there as he was not within range of the QEC. He so wanted to give her a piece of his mind. Her insistence that Shepard continue to chase after her wayward sister was getting very old, especially with a war going on around them. He had not asked his bondmate to help him locate or rescue his own family for that very reason. She would cross through hell for him if he needed her to. That was why he suffered their absence in silence. Shepard was their last best hope to defeat the Reapers. He would not risk her life under any circumstances.

Miranda, however, did not seem to understand the concepts of strategy, loyalty or obligation. Those were some of the biggest reasons he had been so vocal about her desire to lead the squads during the Collector base run. Asking the commander to chase after one woman... he did not have words for how selfish it seemed.

“Miranda...” the commander was clearly about to attempt talking sense into the woman.

“Shepard, listen.” Miranda interrupted her sharply. “I'm being hunted by Cerberus assassins. A lot of them. I need to stay out of sight.”

“What? Why?” Shepard barked at her even though there were obvious reasons.

“Anyone who's met her clearly wants her dead. She abandoned Cerberus and so they sent someone to... 'clean up the mess'.” Garrus grumbled as he stepped in close to Shepard's side.

Miranda crossed her arms and glared at him. A heartbeat later, her attention returned to Shepard. “My father is working on something for the Illusive Man. At least that's the rumor going around and it's something big.”

Garrus growled wordlessly. He kept his opinion to himself about that particular issue. _What was it the humans said? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?_ He suspected Miranda might still be TIM's lackey.

“Why? Why now? What could he possibly hope to gain by throwing his lot in with Cerberus?” Shepard asked thoughtfully.

“My father is ruthless about preserving his 'legacy'.” Miranda's words might be smooth, but her voice dripped sarcasm.

“Legacy?” Shepard asked.

The turian's head snapped up at the word. He knew his people's views on family lines and wondered if the humans saw them in a similar fashion. After all, the current primarch's family was said to have war in their blood. The previous primarch's family had been politicians for hundreds of years.

“He's obsessed with making his mark on history and ensuring his dynasty lasts forever.” Miranda stated.

“And you think the Illusive Man made him an offer.” Shepard's reply was not a question and Garrus realized he had come to the very same conclusion.

“Exactly.” Miranda said as if it were the most obvious conclusion.

“It can't be good, whatever it is. We need to figure this out.” Shepard nodded once to herself.

“I need to do this myself. It's time I stopped running from my father.” Miranda huffed out a sigh of frustration.

“That's... um... that's not quite what I expected from you.” Garrus said quietly. He did not think the woman heard him until her eyes flashed angrily toward him.

“Clearly you think I'm a coward... maybe I am... when it comes to my father. He's been the driving force behind many of my worst decisions. I plan to see that ended.” her attention returned to Shepard then with a somewhat smug look. “I can't think straight until I know Ori is safe.”

“You don't need me to tell you to be careful, but...” Shepard leaned on the railing, eyes narrowing on the woman.

“I can't promise that, Shepard. Could you?” Miranda looked down briefly.

Shepard's response was subdued. “No... I couldn't.”

Miranda nodded at both of them before stepping out of the QEC's range. Her image dissolved into particles before the comm closed completely. She left them no indication that she would contact them again.

“That... uh... that wasn't quite what I expected.” Garrus was not sure how he felt about this turn of events. He still did not trust Miranda, but even he could see some potential redeeming qualities there.

“That wasn't what we came here for. She must have the room bugged.” Shepard said thoughtfully.

“Maybe she's keeping tabs on you...” Garrus suggested, scratching at the frill along his temple that was growing back in.

Shepard took a deep breath through her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut at that. She caught his subtle hint and clearly was not happy with the idea. After a moment, she nodded and turned back toward the console. Clearly she was inputting her Spectre codes to gain access to something.

Garrus was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed the instant a panel near him slid out. Curiously, he pushed off the wall and watched Shepard head toward it. She squatted down and pulled a drawer out easily before removing a long, thin case. He thought it looked suspiciously like a gun case.

“I don't wanna open this here...” Shepard said when she raised up with the case.

“I... hmm... I still have an apartment here.” Garrus stammered.

Shepard gave him an odd look at that before nodding. Clearly she was trying to puzzle out why he still had an apartment on the Citadel. She must have thought he had given everything up when he disappeared on Omega. In a way, he had, but his father had paid the rent on that place up for five years. It was his for at least another year.

“Alright. We'll open this there.” Shepard finally nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the point in-game when the Presidium 'date' took place. Since our AU storyline here has already covered that date, I've got a plan for something new and interesting. Very likely some smuff to go with it. Thoughts?


	23. Unexpected Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus leads Shepard to his old apartment on the Citadel. Surprisingly enough it's still registered to his key code.

The turian's apartment was not where she had expected it to be. Garrus took her up to the Presidium Commons level and guided her toward the tenements tucked into a back corridor. They passed a salarian complaining to someone over his is omni-tool about an extinct Tuchanka beast. She made a mental note to do some digging. There was a fossil in the Normandy's cargo bay that did not smell quite so fossilized. She thought it might be the head of a beast similar to what he was bemoaning.

“I... uh... I don't know... what condition Wrex left the place in...” Garrus began as he stopped before the door at the far end of the corridor.

“Oh god, Garrus. You left _Wrex_... _alone..._ in your apartment?” Shepard laughed, but it sounded strained to her own ears.

“Hmmm... didn't think I was coming back.” he murmured as he keyed the door open.

The first thing she noticed as she stepped inside behind him was the stale air... and the empty bottles on the coffee table ahead and to the left. The bottles on the kitchen island off to her right and the bottles on the floor around one worn chair clearly designed with turians in mind. There was a lot of blue on the walls... and green. She realized those were colors he tended to wear quite a bit in his civvies as well. It dawned on her then that those might be his favorite.

“Were you _trying_ to kill yourself with all this horosk?” Shepard asked as she snatched up one empty bottle and glanced at the label.

Garrus simply studied her face for a moment before glancing down. His answer was quick and quiet. “Something like that...”

“You haven't been here since you left for Omega, have you?” she asked softly, as his answer registered. The implications of his statement hit her like a ton of bricks.

The turian simply shook his head and turned away, heading toward the kitchen. A moment later everything on the kitchen island rattled into a recycling bin with a shattering crash. Shepard nodded to herself then and set the case down on the floor near the coffee table. After a quick glance around, she began grabbing the bottles littering what passed for the living room. It was a small space. The entire apartment might have fit inside the lower level of their quarters on the Normandy. Enough for a single person she realized as she moved about.

There was a thump and a crash of glass followed by a snarled curse that drew her attention sharply back toward the kitchen. She did not see the turian and ventured around the kitchen island. Her eyebrows raised when she saw him sitting on the floor, a broken bottle near his right foot. It was obvious what must have happened. He must have stepped on the bottle and landed on his rump, what little there was of that.

“Garrus... you ok?” she asked meekly and it sounded completely absurd coming from her. She worried that coming here was affecting him more than she thought it might.

“Hmm... damn bottle... didn't see it.” he grumbled, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and poked at the broken bottle with a talon.

Normally so well balanced, Garrus was anything but right then. The look on his face reminded her of a terrified cat, but she would never tell him that. Coming back here and facing the demons of the past was nearly unhinging him. His emotional footing must be almost completely shattered in order for him to miss seeing a wine bottle.

“You know, we should probably just head back to the Normandy.” Shepard began and snapped her mouth shut at the look he gave her. It was not quite a glare. That look was haunted, filled with the shadows of a past he clearly thought he had left behind. Those shadows, she knew were what tormented his sleep. The SR-1, the Collector ship and her death... Those were the meat and bones of his nightmares. She had pieced it together from his nocturnal mumbling. The look was replaced by a determined expression barely a heartbeat later as he climbed to his feet.

“I'm fine, Shepard.” his voice was smooth as silk once his feet were firmly beneath him again.

“Then you should open this. You've got enough space cleared on the counter now.” Shepard said quickly as she grabbed that case up and set it on the counter in front of him.

Garrus simply nodded and stood before it with his hands resting on the counter near it. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the latches and released them. A smooth flick of his wrist and the lid popped up. His eyes roamed over the sleek black metal that was revealed.

“This is...” he began and was clearly at a loss for words.

“The Black Widow, the top of the line in sniper rifles.” Shepard could not contain the smile. It had taken her months to roll around the resources to acquire that. She ran a hand up his arm to his shoulder as she crossed behind him. Her voice was soft when she next spoke. “Happy birthday, lover.”

The turian's head snapped around to lock eyes with her. His mandibles were slightly dropped and his jaw faintly parted. “How....”

“How did I know?” Shepard huffed a quiet laugh.

“Mmhmm...” he nodded, clearly still a little overwhelmed.

“Your sister sent a message.” she stated, her smile growing. “She said to tell you they made it off Palaven and..... happy birthday.”

His breath rushed out in shocked relief as he leaned on the counter. Eyes squeezing shut, he nodded faintly before he spoke. Those crystal blue eyes locking on her in seconds.“That's..... the best news I've had since the Reapers hit Palaven. Maybe... maybe the best gift... in a long time.”

“You think you can make use of the new toy?” Shepard asked as she watched his hand caress the sniper rifle.

“Oh yeah.... Shepard, I don't... uh..... well, I just don't have the words. This means a lot to me.” his voice, soft as it was, was nearly overpowered by his sub-harmonics. He lifted the rifle out of the case and check the sight.

Nodding a moment later, he put the gun back into the case carefully and turned to face her. The awkwardness that she had found so adorable in the beginning returned from time to time. This was one of those times. His emotions were overwhelming him then as he brought a hand up to her shoulder, tracing that now familiar pattern over the fabric covering it.

After a moment of studying her face, he cupped her jaw in both hands and rested his plated brow against her forehead with a contented sigh. His hands slid down her neck to her shoulders and squeezed them ever so gently. He always expressed his feelings more in action than in words and she adored him for it.

“Ever seen a proper turian bed, ma-kee-sa?” he rumbled softly as one hand rose from her shoulder to slip into her hair.

“I don't think I have.” Shepard all but purred at him as she leaned back slightly and met his eyes. She could clearly see mischief sparkling in those icy blue depths. That was a far shade better than the haunted look he had given her before accepting the rifle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter - smuff [provided Wrex didn't destroy the bedroom]


	24. To Know a Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The turian's birthday is shaping up to be so much more interesting than he had thought it might be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smuff [smut & fluff] warning.

Garrus glanced at the rifle once more before his focus returned entirely to Shepard. The 'new toy' she had called it. He had another name for it, something with a great deal of meaning to him: Senaya. It had been his gran's name, but it meant 'savior'. It was a fitting name. That rifle might very well mean the difference between losing Shepard to some horrible death at the hands of Reaper-spawn and saving her ass in a single shot.

Shepard's hands were already opening the closures of his shirt as he backed her toward the fridge. She thumped into it a little harder than he meant for her to, but it only added fuel to her desire. She rewarded him with an open-mouth smile and let out a gasp at the impact. His hands found the top edge of the fridge as he leaned down toward her. He had not expected her to grab one hip crest in an iron grip as her other hand roved over his seam. It drew a rumble past his parted mouth plates as he nipped carefully at her lips.

The turian's breath came in stutters with the increase of his own desire as his bondmate ran those dexterous five fingers along his seam through his clothes. His plates were already loosening when he dragged her away from the appliance. With little effort he wrapped one arm around her, lifting while tugging one of her legs up. She got the idea quickly and virtually wrapped herself around his torso. He fervently hoped Wrex had left the bedroom untouched as he carried her down the hall. Now, he realized as she nibbled around the tender flesh inside his cowl, was not the time he wanted to be cleaning up a mess.

The door to the bedroom did not open right away and he managed to thump Shepard's back into it as well. She laughed and licked her way up his scarred mandible as he searched behind her for the door release. He had forgotten that the inner doors of the apartment did not function on sensors.

“Crap...” he grunted as it released suddenly and he stumbled forward.

Shepard was giggling as he half staggered toward the contoured bed in the far side of the small room. He set her down on that edge as he went to his knees before her. Small as she was, he was nearly level with her seated height in that position.

At her encouragement, his shirt disappeared somewhere across the room. Hers followed in short order. He snapped his visor loose from the node in the back of his skull and tapped a button on the inside. It synced up with the audio system in the apartment before he half tossed it at a padded chair in a corner to his right. He snorted at the song that blared through the place, but continued enticing his bondmate. 'Die for the Cause' probably was not the best piece for intimacy. He had to admit, however, that it had a hell of a beat.

 _Maybe it is the best music for this encounter._ The thought rang through his mind with an audible growl as she pushed him backward onto his sore rear. Two hundred and thirty-five pounds of turian hitting the floor earlier was enough to leave a bruise. Said bruise was quickly forgotten as she stripped him to mid-thigh. As always was the case for them, his plates parted bare minutes after her hands touched his seam without the hindrance of fabric in the way.

Garrus leaned back, hands positioned just behind his hips to support him, head resting on the rear rim of his cowl with a gurgling purr as his bondmate took him into her mouth. He was right, the music had the perfect beat. The thought flashed through his mind only once that they were on the floor. The thought evaporated when he realized she meant to continue after the first few minutes.

“Sweet spirits....” he whispered helplessly as she brought him closer to the edge. His arms were beginning to shake with the effort of maintaining his balance against the pleasure she was inspiring throughout his nervous system.

The moment he thought he could take no more, she stopped suddenly and his breath caught. She rose up to meet him with a wicked expression on her face. He knew that look. She meant to take advantage of the situation... and enjoy every second of it. But she would toy with him first. He gasped when two of her fingertips slipped just inside the bottom edge of his open plates against the base of his shaft. Until she had first found it, he had a never known there was nerve there that could send jolts of pleasure through him like electricity.

Her fingers only enticed him for a moment before they too ceased their activity. She was teasing him, whipping his desire into an uncontrollable frenzy. He wondered how she might react when she brought him to full arousal before they were locked together intimately. It was something he had not allowed to happen for fear of hurting her. It was a hollow concern, he knew. After all, he had seen her shake off hits from Brutes. She was made of tougher stuff than the average human, thanks to Cerberus.

Shepard seemed to know when he reached the point of no return. He could take no more teasing. Teetering on the edge of release too long was driving him insane. Nothing else in the room existed for him as she crawled up over him, hovered over him and drew her hand up the ridges of his shaft on the way. He shuddered with anticipation even as his omni-tool began pinging.

“You gonna answer that?” her voice had taken on a husky quality in her own desire.

“It'll have to wait... I'm... in the middle of some... calibrations.” he mumbled as he strained forward to nibble his way along her jaw.

“Is that right?” Shepard was trying desperately not to laugh. He could hear it in her voice.

“Yeah... _very_..... delicate stuff. Can't... uh... can't step away.... right now.” he growled softly as she leaned in enough for him to feather his tongue over the rolled edge of her ear.

It was her turn to shudder at that contact. He found this game intensely stimulating and frustrating at the same time. His hands were virtually pinned, forced to support himself in a leaning position. He could not touch her with anything other than his mouth and tongue. His mandibles flared at the idea that struck him then as he nipped at her collarbone. Flicking his tongue across it, he ran it along the trail of the muscle leading up to her jaw. The moan and shudder she rewarded him with were well worth the awkward position.

Rising up over him and away from his exploring tongue and mouth plates, she shimmied out of the rest of her own clothes. Instead of taking full advantage right away, she shifted in such a way as to tease him further. His ridges slipped against her folds and drew a gasp of pleasure from them both. She had played this game many times, but he never grew tired of it. It never lasted long. Her own desire would overwhelm her and she would take what she needed. He was more than willing to give as much as she wanted.

As he came up to her jawline, she turned her head just enough to capture his tongue in a human kiss. He moaned into her mouth, his sub-harmonics increasing the volume of the purr that vibrated through his chest. She brought him to the edge once more and stopped. He made the futile attempt to gain access as she shifted away with a smile even as she broke that kiss. Her forehead pressed against his plated brow, eyes locked to his with a devious smile.

“Is there something you want, Garrus?” her voice was a silken purr that seemed to caress his senses.

“Hmmm.....” it was a long moaning purr that escaped him when one of her hands lightly caressed the side of his neck. When he could speak he answered her question with a desperate whisper. “You....”

“I think I can managed that.” she whispered back as she shifted her pelvis forward and captured his twitching tip.

An unintelligible snarl of ecstasy tore its way out of his chest the moment she thrust downward and seated him to his plates in one smooth motion. Hands on his shoulders, she kept perfect pace with the beat of the music that still rumbled through the apartment. He had been concerned about injuring her in the throes of passion, but now he saw that she matched him perfectly.

Release hit him with a snarl as his body drove him forward to wrap his arms around her tightly. His face buried itself in the apex of her neck, right against the scar of his mark. He nuzzled into it as the aftershocks washed over him. There was nowhere else in the galaxy, no the entire universe, he would rather be in that moment. No other arms would ever hold him the ways hers did as her release virtually destroyed her within his. He knew from plates to bones that this small female was his life.

As Shepard collapsed against his keel, he thought his heart might very well hammer its way out to her. His nesting instincts were kicking into overdrive as he began to wonder what a turian/human baby might look like. Garrus was not a fool, he knew such an offspring was not genetically possible, but it would be fun trying. His father was likely to find him a surrogate to continue the Vakarian name and bloodline. Shy of that, he thought they might adopt, if she was willing. He traced his mandible up her neck to her ear before nibbling at it and thought to wonder if she might want a family when this war was over. He realized, as he allowed the love he felt for the small human in his arms to wash over him, that he very much wanted a family with her. That was not something he had ever really considered before.

“I lo.... hmmm..... I'm.... uh.... crazy about you... You know that, right?” he whispered into her ear before rubbing his mandible along her jaw tenderly. He was not ready to tell her how much he loved her. The last person he had said 'I love you' to was his mother and she had died the next evening.

“I know your heart, Garrus. I love you too.” Shepard murmured, hand resting to the left of his keel, right over his pounding heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this took awhile to write. So much going on here... Backed up kitchen sink to name a few... yay me.
> 
> For those interested in the some of the music I'm associating with this fic, here are the titles. Not sure how AO3 feels about links, so I didn't link them, but they can be found on YouTube.
> 
> Hi-Finesse - The Wolf - *referenced as: Die for the Cause*  
> Audiomachine - Apocalyptic Warnings - *referenced as: Turian Anthem*  
> Epic Hybrid Metal Mix [Instrumental] - *referenced as the full mix of tracks on Garrus' visor*  
> Two Steps from Hell - Orion - *Mass Effect overall feel [along with actual ME soundtrack*


	25. Do Turians Blush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Garrus are interrupted during an intimate moment.

Shepard waited until he had receded back behind his plates before shifting away from him. The music track changed and she snorted at the selection. She eyed him coyly as she offered him a hand up off the floor.

“Really, Garrus? How many times have you played 'Hurt Me Deeper' while we did... _this_?” there was a laugh in her voice she could not completely contain.

If not for the dossier on the Shadow Broker's ship, she might never have known the playlist he rolled with when they ran the hard missions. When she got close enough during some if those runs, she could hear a little of it every now and then, but not enough to make out exactly what tracks he had loaded. Now he had patched it through the sound system in the apartment. She would be surprised if half the Citadel could not hear it.

“Hmmm... you know I like the hard stuff.” he blinked as he leaned in and raised his head with a shocked look dropping his mandibles slightly. “That... just sounded... horrible.”

Shepard was doing everything she could to maintain a straight face, and failing. Finally, she sat on the edge of the bed and held her belly as the laughter burst through. It wheezed out of her in peels for several long seconds. The turian made it worse by snapping his mandibles close to his face and raising his brow-plates.

A moment later, when the laughter exhausted itself, the surface she sat on drew her attention. It was much softer than she had expected it to be. It felt like some kind of mimetic material from the way it conformed to her rear.

Glancing over her shoulder at the contoured structure, an idea struck her. She locked eyes with Garrus as a mischievous smile spread across her face. “You ready for round two?”

His mandibles spread even as his brow-plates hooded his eyes. He wasted no time shedding his pants completely and stepping over to her. She wrapped her legs around the backs of his, over his knee spurs, and pulled him in close. He did not give her time to scoot back. Instead, he squatted down and hook his arms under her knees. A heartbeat later, she found herself on her back in the bowl-shaped depression, the turian hovering over her. _Damn, he's fast. I keep forgetting how much faster than a human he can be_.

At a glance, she realized his plates were already parting once more. The peek of blue slipping free of those silvery-gray plates drew a smile from her as he straddled her. She shifted just a fraction, enough to part her legs and he did the rest. The position might have been awkward for a human, but it was natural for him. She found it was working for her as well. The pliable ridges spiraling around his shaft were hitting all her sweet spots with an intensity that was sure to drive her over the edge in a matter of minutes. Later she might regret the chafing.

“ _Dammit,_ Garrus! Turian ass wasn't on my list of things to see... _ever!_ ” came the bellow of a krogan voice they both knew well. “I'll be lucky if I don't go blind!”

Garrus' head whipped around, his back and carapace twisting oddly to glare at the occupant of the doorway. His face was a mask of predatory anger when he snarled. “You _mind?_ I'm.... a little... _busy_ here.”

“That Shepard under you?” the krogan grumbled in morbid curiosity, chin jutting toward the flash of pale flesh in the concaved dip, but did not leave.

“Hi, _Wrex_. Go _away,_ _Wrex!_ We're _busy, Wrex!_ ” Shepard growled as she pushed herself and Garrus up just enough to see the krogan. The turian glanced down at her briefly with a surprised look as she lifted him upward several inches. Clearly it still shocked him that she could lift him while flat on her back.

“Yeah, I'll.... I should... uh.... I should go.... Heard the noise. Figured I'd see who broke in.” Wrex hitched a thumb over his shoulder.

“ _Go!_ ” both she and Garrus barked at him, the turian's snarling sub-harmonics nearly overriding their words.

The second the krogan disappeared, her attention returned to Garrus with a smile. The look on his face and the decidedly purplish flush of color across the flesh of his neck sent her into giggles. He turned his head and locked eyes with her in a glare of mild indignation. He obviously did not care to have his privacy invaded any more than she did.

“Laugh it up, Shepard.” he grumbled even as he thrust into her and drew a gasp of pleasure from her.

“You're... blushing... I _finally_ made it happen.” she gasped out as she hooked her fingers into the rim of his cowl.

“Doesn't count.” he said smooth as silk as his hands planted themselves on either side of her head. He leaned in and flicked his tongue along the outer edge of her jawline.

“Sure it does.” she sighed and tipped her head back to give him better access.

“Hmmm... _you_... weren't... responsible...” his breath was coming in shorter bursts now.

Shepard dissolved into mindless gasps of pleasure as he continued. His nibbling at her neck and collarbones was accompanied by shuddering breaths and quite moaning purrs. Those breaths caressed her skin and drove all thought of the krogan in the next room out of her mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped the rear edge of his cowl as he moved against her. He shifted and wrapped his arms around her, elbows buried in the surface beneath them to prevent his keel from digging into her. Rocking into her, his movements became more urgent. The strict turian discipline and control slipping more with each thrust now. If he had been human when the moment crashed over him, he might have been brought to tears. He ducked his plated forehead into the apex of her neck, bowed his carapace upward and simply shook for a minute or two during his last stuttering movements. She followed him over that edge barely a heartbeat later.

When he had receded back behind his plates, he shifted his weight and all but flopped beside her. One arm draped lazily across her belly as he nuzzled his nose against her ear. His mandibles fluttered just a fraction as his breathing slowly returned to normal.

A streak of mischief raced up her spine and she smiled at him, her voice still carrying a husky quality. “Was it good for you?”

“Hmmmmm.....” he purred and nuzzled in to languidly graze his tongue over her ear before whispering. “The best... always is........ _always_ will be.”

“Hey! This the new toy?” came the yell from the kitchen.

Shepard groaned and sank into the bed a little deeper at the sound. _At least he waited till we were finished_. She looked at Garrus, his face relaxed and uncaring that the krogan was rummaging through the apartment. If he had been a cat, his tail would have been flicking in happy laziness. As it was, one leg was draped over hers and his toes were flexing slowly.

With a sigh of gathering frustration, she started to sit up. The arm across her belly prevented the movement. She glanced at Garrus and grunted faintly. His mandibles were flared every so slightly, brow-plates lowered a fraction and his eyes were closed. A flash of blue that was his tongue flicked across his lower mouth plate before a yawn seized him. It completely spoiled the indifferent expression he was pitching in her direction.

“Duty calls.” Shepard sighed and shifted again.

The turian's arm squeezed gently around her. “He'll wait... What's the worst he could do?”

The moment the words rolled off his tongue, the sound system cut off. Something that sounded like a cross between the scream of steel on steel and a Reaper's weapon tore through the apartment a few seconds later. From the sound of the grunts and thumps that accompanied it, it was clearly krogan metal. Garrus was up and out of the bed as if someone had shot him in the ass.

“ _Damn!_ What _is_ that? Is he _trying_ to blow our eardrums out?” the turian snarled, omni-tool open in seconds as he clearly switched off the cybernetics responsible for his hearing.

Shepard covered her own ears in envy and huffed a laugh as Garrus charged out of the bedroom completely naked. She supposed it did not really matter. He looked more like a 'Ken doll' when his plates were closed. Granted, he was the turian version, but the image overlaid itself, nonetheless.

Releasing a sigh of relief the second the apartment went silent, Shepard threw her clothes on and headed out into the main part of the apartment. She heard Wrex howling with laughter before she made it past the door. The turian growl that followed was not good.

“ _Oh damn, Garrus!_ There's a limit even to _my_ curiosity.” Wrex was wheezing out a laugh. “I didn't need to see your... whatever _that_ is...”

“Hmm... there's that _charming_ personality.” Garrus grumbled.

The turian was squatting before the panel that controlled the sound system throughout the apartment. It was in pieces and he was attempting to fix it. It did not take a genius to realize he had hit the panel a little too hard and all but shattered it.

“Shepard, how do you...?” Wrex was trying to fit his hands together awkwardly. “You know...”

“You're really gonna go there, Wrex?” she asked in mild irritation.

“Yeah... never mind. I don't really wanna know.” Wrex let out an exasperated sigh and glanced at Garrus with all of his clan markings exposed. “Didn't know the ink was everywhere.”

Shepard's face pinched and a laugh huffed out of her at that. On her next breathe she gave Wrex a warning. “Leave it alone, Wrex.”

“Yeah... you're probably right.” he grumbled and flipped the lid on the gun case open further for a better view.

“You know... I can shoot a Seeker from between its wings... at five hundred yards.” Garrus murmured smoothly as he replaced the plate on the sound system controls.

It was a game they played often, insults, banter, empty threats. They would laugh about it later. The commander knew the two males were the best of friends, had been at least since her death on the SR-1. She had managed to get a few details here and there. Piecing it together, she had come to the realization that Wrex had saved her bondmate's life on the SR-1 when the Collectors took her down. She owed the krogan leader everything for that day and his selfless act.

Without Garrus, she did not want to think about how things might have gone so far. Nor did she want to consider how things might end. She might have hardened her heart, become unfeeling, uncaring and become a pawn of darkness. The turian getting to his feet before her was one of the brightest spots in her life, the main reason she kept fighting the war.

“So the new rifle for your birthday?” Wrex asked as he glanced down at the now flatly open case.

Garrus glanced back at her, mandibles drawn in. “Does everyone know?”

Shepard cringed with a shrug. “I might have mentioned it to Liara.”

“Liara..... the queen of gossip.” Garrus snorted and stepped around behind the kitchen island to join Wrex. He glanced up at Shepard before the rifle captured his attention again. “Of course everyone knows now. Damn.... do you think she'll want to throw a party?”

“I don't know, Garrus. You know Liara.” Shepard shrugged.

“Always lookin' for scraps.” Wrex grumbled and leaned a hand on the counter. “Like a pyjack.”

“Hmm... not quite how I'd describe her.” the turian's voice carried an edge and the krogan picked up on it, dropping the subject.

“So what's the range on this thing? You tested it yet?” Wrex changed the subject.

It no longer seemed to matter to Wrex that Garrus was stark naked. They were off on gun comparisons and evaluations. Basically talking 'shop'. Shepard let out a faint sigh with a smile and curled up in the turian designed chair. She had to admit, the concaved back allowed her a bit more freedom of positioning than something designed strictly for humans. It was not long before she nodded off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these chapters are coming a little slower lately. Bare with me. It's getting warmer outside and my happy ass needs sunshine... while I can still breathe outside... lol. Once it hits the high 80' and 90's, I'll likely be housebound again due to my asthma and intolerance to extreme heat.


	26. Zaeed and the Volus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is awakened from her 'nap' in that comfy turian chair by a ruckus outside the apartment.

“ _Why_... why go after me... or your old employers, _Zaeed?_ ” came the ventilated cry of a volus as the sound of heavy boots running down the hall outside the apartment woke her. “What did Cerberus..... ever do...... to you?”

“None of you damn business! Get back here, you little runt!” Zaeed snapped as he took off after the volus.

The breathy yell of the other was distancing itself from the door of the apartment as his feet hit the stairs half way down the block. “C-Sec will come looking for me when they realize I'm missing!”

“They won't _give a damn_ when they find out you sold them out to Cerberus, _you little bastard!_ ” Zaeed huffed.

Shepard shot up out of the turian chair and took the handful of steps to the door. She opened it just in time to catch a glimpse of Zaeed's retreating back as the older man ran down the stairs.

“What about the turian colony Cerberus is planning to attack? If you kill me, they'll die!” Din Korlack wheezed. She recognized his suit markings as he raced up the stairs at the other end of the hall.

Shepard stepped out the door just as the other two disappeared into an apartment at the other end of the hall. She stepped into a jog, drawing the pistol she always carried. There was going to be trouble, she was sure of it. Part of her hoped Zaeed had honestly meant his apology on the refugee level earlier. This thing might go easier if he had.

Glancing behind her at the scuff of a footstep, she realized Garrus was right on her heels. He at least had put his pants back on. His shirt was missing, exposing all the patterns of blue ink across his chest plates and carapace. There was a pistol in his hands at the ready as he followed her.

They both heard a couple of gunshots from the apartment. Garrus growled at the sound and picked up his pace, passing her. “Crap!”

The turian took the stairs two and three at a time as she ran after him. They both ran across the landing and race up the stairs on the other side. Garrus beat her to the door by seconds and began hacking the lock. Clearly Zaeed, or someone, had locked it behind the man.

The moment that door opened, Shepard noticed several things as she charged in. A krogan, Blood Pack by the markings on his armor, lay dead a few feet from the door. An asari commando, obvious a member of Eclipse lay a few feet away from him. Zaeed was leaning on the railing of the balcony.

“Been awhile, Zaeed.” Shepard greeted him as she took in the scene.

“Shepard... glad I wasn't just making an ass of myself over a hunch. Heard you were in the district.” he glanced at the dead krogan with a glare. “Undisciplined bastards. This is what I get for signing up at the last minute.”

“ _I_ thought you'd be heading off on an assignment from Hackett by now.” Garrus grumbled at the man as he stopped at Shepard's side.

“Where's Korlack?” Shepard asked sharply.

“Noticed him, did ya?” Zaeed growled and nodded toward the far side of the room.

“I'm here, Commander. You may have saved my life. The turians thought I was still with Cerberus! They ordered my capture.” the volus wheezed.

“You were yelling about a turian colony on your way here...” Garrus said as he squatted down before the volus and glanced down at the pistol still in his hand. “What do you know?”

“I have information on the colony's defense system... Cerberus has it as well. They'll strike soon.” Korlack took a step back from the turian, clearly distressed. “But... it I tell you which planet they're attacking, Cerberus will know I turned traitor.”

“Turned? You already betrayed your own people.” Zaeed growled at the suited alien.

“I'd call it a fair trade. We _saved_ sorry ass, you give us the name of the planet _you_ put in danger.” Garrus snapped and tapped the muzzle of his pistol on the chest of the volus' hardsuit.

Korlack stumbled back a step further and wheezed. “I can offer a bargain... the volus bombing fleet... in tactical terms, it's worth far more than a colony.”

Shepard crossed her arms in severe irritation. She wanted to split the little shit's suit wide open for his lack of cooperation. From the look on her bondmate's face, he might actually be considering just that. She said nothing as his hand shot up and grabbed the volus by one of the flaps on the face of his helmet. He tugged him in close and glared into the eyes of that mask.

The turian's sub-harmonics carried a menacing threat of their own as he snarled at the short suited alien. “I think you'll give us both.”

“You can warn the turians there'll be an attack. That should be general enough to ward off suspicion.” Korlack continued to hold out, even with seven feet of angry turian holding him in place.

Shepard stepped forward, placing her hand on her bondmate's shoulder as she knelt down beside him. Her eyes were locked on those of the volus, barely seen through the lenses of his suit. “Look, I know you tried to do the right thing before. It failed because you trusted the wrong people. You've got a chance to make up for it, here and now. You're giving us that volus fleet.”

“And the name of the turian colony.” Garrus growled as he released the male's suit.

“I can't.” he insisted.

“You can.” Shepard said calmly as she squeezed Garrus' forearm slightly.

“Waste of everyone's time trying to appeal to a volus' better nature, Shepard.” Zaeed voiced his opinion with the wave of his hand.

Korlack looked up at Zaeed, then back at Garrus before finally glancing up at Shepard. His ventilator wheezed repeatedly. “Aephus. The colony's name is Aephus. Cerberus wants its shipyards.”

“And the bombing fleet?” Shepard asked sharply as she stood once more.

“Yes... it's yours, Commander.” Korlack nodded and wheezed a little less. “I'll speak with Citadel Security about this.... incident.”

“You do that.” Garrus said, climbing to his feet as the volus turned toward the door.

Korlack glanced over his shoulder at them with another nod. “You have my thanks.”

“Took him long enough to spit that out.” Zaeed grumbled to her left.

“Zaeed, what are you doing here?” Shepard growled at the man once the door closed behind the volus.

“Later. C-Sec's on their way. Won't be too pleased with the mess we left them.” Zaeed headed for the door before turning to look at the two of them for a moment. “Catch up with me at the docks, if you like.”

“You know you left this...” Shepard snapped, motioning toward the bodies.

The man gave her a bitter smile and nodded before exiting the apartment. Shepard shook her head with a disgusted sigh before locking eyes with the turian. The look on his face seemed pinched, as far as turian facial plates could express that.

“We should... probably go. He's right, C-Sec won't be happy. They'll have questions... and we don't have a lot of answers.” Garrus grumbled quietly as he took a couple of steps toward the door. His footfalls did not sound as heavy as they usually did without the bulk of his armor.

Nodding, she followed him out. He was right, C-Sec was going to want answers and they had little enough of those. Her Spectre status would protect her, but her bondmate was a different story. Half of C-Sec already knew he was Archangel. She suspected they were just waiting for him to slip up so they could bust him. That was not something she was even remotely considering allowing to happen. They were in this thing till the end and she intended to see that he remained at her side through it all.

“Let's go.” Shepard breathed as she stepped out the door and headed past him, taking the stairs at a near run.


	27. Loose Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard tries to tie up a few loose ends on the Citadel before heading out to her next mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this one took awhile.

They made it back to his apartment in record time. C-Sec was just entering the hallway leading to the tenements as the door closed behind them. Garrus headed for the bedroom to grab his shirt and whatever else he had left back there. Shepard snatched up the gun case. Her Spectre status allowed her to tote that without question.

When the turian returned to the living room, she held a hand out to him expectantly. He glanced at it then up at her face, clearly confused. She wiggled her fingers at him before tapping the gun case with one finger of the hand holding it.

“C'mon, Garrus. Hand over the pistol. You know if they stop us, they could pat you down. If they find it...” she said quietly.

“They'll detain me on suspicion.....” he sighed and pulled the gun out of the holster hidden over his flank.

“Regret leaving C-Sec yet?” she asked with a smile as she took the gun and tucked it into the rear waistband of her pants.

“Never...” he shook his head with a slight flaring of his mandibles.

“Good. Let's get out of here.” she nodded.

Glancing toward the kitchen, she realized Wrex must have left while she was napping. At least she would not have to deal with that kind of mojo should C-Sec actually decide to harass them. Garrus followed her gaze as he headed toward the door.

“He left an hour ago. Said he wanted to 'have a _word_ ' with Councilor Sparatus.” Garrus emphasized 'word' with a subtle hum of his sub-harmonics.

“That doesn't sound good.” Shepard huffed a laugh as she followed her turian out the door.

Garrus keyed the lock the second she was at his shoulder. They both looked toward the now open apartment on the other end of the tenement hallway. C-Sec was crawling all over the place. Normally they would not have worried much over that kind of activity. Given the circumstances, neither of them wanted to risk an incident.

As casually as they could, the pair made their way down the stairs and out into the main section of the Presidium Commons. No one noticed them. They made it maybe fifty feet from the corridor before Shepard noticed Javik standing staring out over the reservoir.

“Hell of a view, isn't it?” she asked him as she stepped up beside him. The idea was to appear otherwise engaged should C-Sec get any ideas.

“During _our_ war, this place became a myth to my people. A dream glimpsed only in the memory shards.” Javik answered as he continued to gaze out at the activity over the water. “The Citadel was both the heart of our civilization and its demise.”

“The Reapers hit here first, didn't they?” Shepard asked as she studied his face in profile. She could not shake the feeling that she was staring at a Collector no matter how different the details of his features were.

“No one I knew had ever seen the Citadel. To be here now...” he shook his head slightly, his four eyes roving over the reservoir. “I don't know what to think.”

“A prothean on the Citadel, alive?” Garrus followed the Prothean's gaze as he spoke quietly. “I call that a victory.”

Shepard continued to study him. This was not a Collector. Javik was simply a man, albeit, displaced from his time. He seemed overwhelmed by the magnitude of just being there.

“Perhaps. When things were at their darkest, we used to tell stories, imagining the wonders of this place.” Javik said softly. His voice gained strength as he continued. “The seat of our empire... the power to sway worlds. The galaxy belonged to us.”

“A lot of races have embassies here.” Shepard mentioned after a moment.

“It's true then. You _share_ power with the rest?” Javik asked as he turned to gaze at the comings and goings of those on the Presidium level.

“It's not a perfect government...” Garrus began and deferred to Shepard when she finished.

“But it's kept the peace.” she nodded.

“Most of the time, anyway.” Garrus nodded toward a C-Sec officer as several of them passed by.

Javik frowned and turned fully to face the hanar that had wandered into the gathering crowd. Those in the crowd were staring at the Prothean in open awe and fascination. It seemed they had overheard the mention of the extinct race.

“Pardon me. This one has been listening. This one suspects _you_ are a Prothean.” the hanar towered over everyone on those spindly little legs.

Javik did not answer it. Instead, he marched forward and laid his hand on it. From their joined reactions, it was clear he was reading what passed for its mind. After a moment, he broke contact and took a step back. “A hanar. I remember your kind when you were still minnows in the ocean.”

The hanar swayed dangerously. Its voice, when it spoke again was filled with reverence. “This one is unworthy! This one has seen the face of an Enkindler!”

“It thinks you're a god.” Garrus had moved in close to Javik and made the statement in a low voice.

Shepard simply shot him a look. _That's just great, Garrus. Inflate his ego even more_. To Javik, she said, “They consider your kind to be their gods since you gave them the ability to speak.”

“A pity we did not teach them to speak better.” there was contempt in the Prothean's voice.

“You're really a Prothean?” a dark blue asari stepped forward to stand beside the hanar. Close as they were, with one of the hanar's many legs twining around her, Shepard suspected the pair were a couple.

“I am.” Javik said simply, glancing at the turian who joined them.

“But... if you lost the last war... what hope do we have?” the blue woman asked skeptically.

“For many, there may be no hope.” Javik began and Shepard could see where he was about to go. His train of thought was about to become a wreck for those looking to him for a fragment of hope. He turned and headed back toward the railing. “The Reapers killed _trillions_ in my cycle. The odds of being among the living are remote.”

“Uh... I don't think that's gonna work.” Shepard whispered near him.

“Inspire them to see you as an _honorable_ representative of your people...” Garrus hummed quietly on his other side.

Javik glanced between them and finally nodded before turning back to the others. “But you are still alive, now. That alone is a miracle. And you still have the power to fight. My people knew your kind when you were young. Turian, asari, hanar – there was potential in all of you. Now you must seize that potential and become the weapon you meant to be – the weapon that tells the Reapers we are _not_ machines. _We are alive_. And we will _fight_ back!”

“Thank you. That meant a lot.” the asari said, stepping forward.

Javik simply nodded.

“Commander Shepard, it must be an honor to have a Prothean fighting along side you.” the asari continued, her gaze shifting toward the commander.

“He's starting to learn his way around. Javik is one of the best soldiers I've ever seen.” Shepard admitted.

“The commander is a capable warrior as well. For a human. Who lived in caves.” it almost sounded like a joking jab. “Thank you, Commander. I have enjoyed my time here, walking among the... young.”

“Impressive... They'll remember that speech.” Garrus nodded and smoothed down the edge of his tunic self-consciously.

“With a little luck, it'll inspire some of them to pick up weapons should the need arise.” Shepard stated. A gun in every hand was not her favorite idea, but if it helped beat back the Reapers, she meant to see it happen.

“I will see you back on the Normandy.” Javik said simply before stepping away and heading down the corridor.

“We should head back...” Shepard suggested as Garrus drew in closer to her.

“Riiight. Maybe catch Massani along the way.” Garrus drawled.

“An explanation _is_ in order.” she nodded and headed down the corridor.

“Don't hold your breath, Shepard.” Garrus warned.

“I'm not. I don't expect him to crack and spill his reasons.” she grumbled.

They took the elevator down one level below the Normandy's berth and found the man all but sitting in the refugee area. He looked their way angrily as they approached. Shepard wondered if he had meant for them to go down for incident in that apartment. It would not surprise her if he had.

“What the hell you lookin' at?” he growled as they drew up to him.

“Nothing. Nothing.” gasped a fearful batarian that gained the measure of Zaeed's glare.

“Wondered if you'd show up, Shepard.” Zaeed returned his attention to the commander. “Figured you'd be too damn busy recruiting armies for this war you're in charge of.”

“It's what I seem to do best. There's never enough help.” she sighed as she leaned against a crate across from the man.

“I'll bet. I've seen footage of what happened on Earth. Tell you what, I'll see if some old contacts of mine are still around. Can't promise anything, but if enough of them are still breathin'... I'll drag their sorry asses along with me to see Hackett.” Zaeed shifted his weight and edge his rear further onto the crate he was half sitting on.

“So – I'm guessing that's the reason you haven't left already...” Garrus said as he crossed his arms.

“Damn right it is. You need all the help you can get in this war... and I plan to make it out the other side of this thing – alive.” Zaeed growled and pushed himself off his crate. “Omega's where I'll find that sorry lot. That's where I'll head first.”

Shepard remained where she was for a couple of minutes and watched the man disappear around the shipping containers. Garrus was eyeing her thoughtfully before stepping over toward her. “You're exhausted...”

“This war... so many lives riding on the outcome and I feel like I'm wading through mud to get us the resources and people we need.” she finally let the truth of what was weighing so heavily on her shoulders our. Nodding and pushing off the shipping container, she sighed. “I'm fine, Garrus. We should head back to the Normandy.”

A buzzing sound carried to them from the next stall over and she curiously headed in search of it. The moment she saw the batarian tattoo artist behind Vega, she realized what must be happening. “James?”

“Hey, Commander. What brings you down here?” he smiled then glared over his shoulder at the batarian for an instant.

“I was about to ask you that...” she said and indicated the tattoo artist with a thrust of her chin in his direction.

“I'm joinin' the N7 program.” he grunted.

“Celebrating in ink, Jimmy?” Garrus asked as he leaned against the door frame of the shipping container and crossed his arms.

Vega laughed and nodded. “Sort of... See... there's no official channels to go through right now. So – I guess this is my way of _making_ it official. I'm just a recruit, but with you as my N7 training officer, how can I fail? Right?”

“Training you? How do you figure that?” Shepard's eyes had gone wide as she squatted down before the man.

“Well, of course, it's not official, but what is in this damn war?” Vega grumbled and glared at the tattoo guy again. “You're N7 and you're my commanding officer. I'll take my lead from you. And you know, I'll take whatever advice you can give.”

“You know, that's gonna sting for a few days. You sure you're gonna be ready for duty?” Shepard gave him a sarcastic smile.

“Always. I won't let you down.” Vega glanced toward Garrus briefly and a flicker of mischief passed through his expression. “Maybe we should get matching N7 tats – or you could get – my name... somewhere special.”

Garrus cleared his throat at that, his sub-harmonics growling faintly, but he was on the edge of a laugh. “She's already taken, Jimmy.”

Shepard glanced at him and huffed a laugh as he had exposed his left wrist and the blue turian script encircling it. She waved at Vega, showing off her matching tat. “He's right. I've already got the other half of a matched set right here.”

“Uuhh... I was just... I didn't mean to... you know... I was just..” Vega was hysterical when he was squirming in search of a comeback.

“Hmmm... you owe me a sparring match. I'll catch you later in the shuttle bay.” Garrus purred in complete and utter satisfaction at Vega's discomfort.

“Later, Lieutenant.” Shepard chuckled and walked away, Garrus hot on her heels. She glanced at him as he came up abreast of her on the way to the elevator. “Sparring, huh?”

“Hmm... best way I know to reinforce my claim.” he glanced at her and his mandibles flared at the look on her face. “It's a turian thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next stop: Omega and Aria's coup.


	28. There's Always a Catch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What's the catch?” Shepard asked with a frown.  
> “You'll have to leave the Normandy and its crew behind.” Aria growled.

“Bray... I thought I killed you on Omega.” Garrus grumbled as they stopped before the batarian waiting near the decon point just outside the elevator.

“And _I_ thought you were dead as well – _Archangel_.” Bray growled and turned his attention back to Shepard. “The _great_ Commander Shepard. Heh, and me without my autograph book.”

“Save it. Just take me to Aria. Clearly she wants something or she wouldn't have sent you.” Shepard growled at the male.

Bray seemed to be sizing them both up before grumbling and turning toward the elevator they had just exited. “Follow me.”

“So where is she?” Shepard asked as the batarian stopped beside the rapid transit console. The words were barely past her lips when a car came up to their level and opened.

“Shepard.” Aria said from the passenger seat.

Bray nodded for her to get in and she glanced back at Garrus. Before he could say a word, Shepard spoke up with a glance back at the turian. “He's coming with me.”

“Fine.” Aria grumbled and indicated the empty seats inside the vehicle.

“This is... um... _very_ dramatic.” Garrus stated as he settled into the seat behind the two women and toward the center of the car.

“There are too many eyes and ears in Purgatory.” Aria said smoothly as the hatch closed and her driver took off.

“I assume this is about retaking Omega.” it was a statement. Shepard was not wasting time in getting to the point.

“This is about _your_ war, Shepard.” Aria grumbled quietly as she glanced over at the commander. “Cerberus controlling the Terminus Systems seriously bolsters their mobility. Since taking Omega, they've spread through the galaxy. Surely the Alliance has noticed.”

“Cut to the chase. What's your plan?” Shepard growled at her. She did not like the games Aria tended to play.

Garrus did not blame her. He had played a few of those 'games' with the asari himself. She had made life on Omega, running as Archangel, a living hell some days. Still others she had practically rolled out the red carpet for him and his team. Staying out of Aria's way, out of her sight, had become a mission he and his team had once excelled at. Now, here he sat, in a car with her. He only hoped Shepard knew what she was getting them into.

“I plan to kick them out.” Aria said simply. She opened her omni-tool and keyed in a few lines of code. “I've amassed a fleet of merc ships. We're going to punch through enemy lines and invade.”

Shepard leaned back in her seat with a pensive look on her face. Garrus glared at Aria. The asari was making this sound like a cake-walk, but he knew Omega and he knew Cerberus. Nothing about this mission was going to be easy.

“Once we're on Omega, it's a ground fight.” Aria continued with a greasy smile as she pulled an image and a profile up on a data pad. She passed it to Shepard. “That's why I want _you_ – I only accept the best. The leader of the Cerberus occupation is General Oleg Patrovsky. He's the one who... ousted me.”

Shepard glanced back at Garrus as she held the data pad to her right so he could see it between the seats. “Don't know him.”

The turian shook his head. He had seen a lot of dirt bags roll through C-Sec, but not this one. The human looked shifty to him. Low profile, that was one to watch for sure. Anyone who could be involved with Cerberus and stay under the radar was a problem.

“The Illusive Man's top military strategist and best kept secret. But all you really need to know is that he's a merciless bastard.” Aria said coldly.

“What do we know about this occupation?” Garrus asked as he leaned forward slightly.

Aria glanced back at the turian, her eyes roving over the scarred side of his face, clearly assessing him. With a nod, she told them what she knew. “Petrovsky's army is massive. And he's got Omega locked up tight. The information stops there.”

“So you're wingin' it.” Shepard narrowed her eyes at the asari.

Aria huffed an emotionless laugh. “Not at all. There are secrets on Omega only _I_ know, _secrets_ that will provide us a foothold.”

Garrus cleared his throat and tapped his visor frame with a talon when she glanced back at him. He was not sure he cared overly much for the look she gave him and he lowered his talon slowly. There were a good many things he knew about Omega, but she might very well know more.

“Omega holds secrets even _you_ and your _team_ never stumbled on, _Archangel_.” Aria stated calmly.

“It's... uh... it's just... Garrus now.” the turian stammered as he broke eye contact with the asari.

_Damn, now I know for sure... She knew it was me the whole time... Could have killed me any time she wanted when I shrugged off the armor for civvies to run undetected_.

“Good. I put a lot of effort into convincing the merc bands that you're dead. My debt to you is repaid... in full.” Aria nodded after a moment and shifted in her seat. “Petrovsky's invasion was precise and ruthless. He'll stop at nothing to win.”

“Sounds familiar.” Shepard breathed.

Garrus thought about her statement regarding a debt for several long moments. He could think of only one incident when she might have fallen within his debt. There had been a cryo-tube on an auction block in the merchant district. Rumor had it that tube had contained Shepard's remains. He could never bring himself to get close enough to confirm that. In the end, a fight had broken out and he had picked off several mercs gunning for an asari and drell. Aria had been in the mix there as well. He had picked off a couple of mercs aiming for her while he was at it.

Aria leaned in toward Shepard now and Garrus felt an instant pang of jealousy that he stamped out quickly. “Shepard, I know my reputation. I know I'm hated. I ruled Omega with an iron fist. But the people were _free_. Their _lives_ were _theirs_. _I_ preserved that. This _man_ took all that away and _he is going to pay_.”

It was more passion than Garrus could honestly remember seeing in Aria. She was usually so bland and careless, or so it had seemed. He had only guessed at the tears of leadership on Omega under the asari's rule. She was ruthless, he had to give her that, but he had never realized she actually cared about those she ruled over.

Aria settled back into her seat once more and locked her gaze out the window. “When Omega is mine again, I'll give you _everything_. I've got ships, mercs, eezo – all yours for the war.”

“What's the catch?” Shepard asked with a frown.

Garrus would have asked that very question if his bondmate had not beaten him to it. This did not sound like the Aria he knew. She sounded desperate to take back the station. He thought he could understand, however. If she truly did care about those living there, then this whole occupation must be a living hell for her.

“I have _objections_ to some of the company you keep. So you'll have to leave the Normandy and its crew behind.” Aria growled.

“You're _objections_ are duly noted, but _my_ crew are professionals.” Shepard stated with a touch of frost in her tones.

“Let's just say – I want _you_ all to _myself_.” Aria said and shifted in her seat again.

There was that pang of jealously, sharper than before. To Garrus, Aria sounded just a little too possessive for his taste. Something did not feel right to him about this mission. He could not sit back and keep his opinion to himself on this one. “It's me, isn't? You object to having _Archangel_ along. Don't trust me to get the job done...”

Shepard was watching them both in a very disconnected way. He knew that look. She was assessing the situation, reading their tells. “It's Mordin. He's former STG and that makes him dangerously unpredictable.”

Aria glanced back between them with that greasy smile again. She did not give them an answer, however. Instead, she turned her attention back to Shepard. “Bray will provide coordinates to my fleet. Oh, and while we're still on the Citadel, _please_ be discreet. I heard about the incident in the Presidium tenements.”

They came up level with a deserted section of the docking ring. The hatch opened and Bray climbed out. He turned and indicated that they should follow him. He handed the commander a data pad and nodded. “The fleet is hidden in this system. Signal me when you're on your way. Aria and I will meet you on the command ship.”

Shepard glared at him and stormed off toward one of the doors in an angry huff. He called after her. “Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Shepard.... I don't like this.” Garrus said smoothly to her once they entered an elevator.

“That makes two of us.” she grumbled and leaned against the wall near the keypad.

“Solo missions tend to go sideways.” he sighed.

“I'm not going solo.” Shepard said in a matter of fact tone.

“Aria won't like that...” he began and she cut him off.

“I don't give a _damn_ what Aria doesn't _like_. She doesn't get to dictate who I choose to run a _successful_ mission with.” she crossed her arms angrily and watched the floors dance by for a few seconds. “I think you're right. She doesn't trust you, but it's not for the reasons you think.”

“I was a thorn in her side for almost a year and a half....” Garrus said quietly.

“You were C-Sec, but you're also turian.” Shepard guided him toward her train of thought.

He caught on quickly. “And turians represent the galactic police... in a sense.”

“That's right.... She's worried you'll call the hierarchy in and bring 'civilized authority' down on her empire.” Shepard nodded and locked eyes with him. “I'm taking you with me whether she likes it or not.”


	29. A Slipshod Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria knows her plan is flawed, but she's not about to give Shepard the satisfaction of out classing her in strategy.

“We're out shipped four-to-one. And most of our vessels are transports with limited firepower.” the dark blue asari on the QEC grumbled.

Aria leaned forward and glared at the QEC image before her. “We're not here to win a space battle, Jarral. We just have to punch through their line.”

“So, you commandeered a Cerberus cruiser.” Shepard seemed to purr as she swaggered onto the bridge, Bray right behind her.

“The guest of honor has arrived. We can finally start.” Aria's voice dripped contempt as she watched the human.

“Let me guess, you're planning on infiltrating the enemy fleet.” Shepard's voice held all the enthusiasm of an elcor.

Aria ignored the subtle tones and turned toward the strategic holo in the middle of the bridge. “Exactly. We position ourselves to strike a crippling blow, then my forces join the fun.”

“A lot could go wrong.” Shepard said, eyeing her thoughtfully.

“The assault's been planned for weeks, Shepard. For now, just... sit back. Let me steer.” Aria narrowed her eyes at the woman before turning away. She wanted the woman to see there were those in the galaxy who could match her strategic mind. This was her moment to prove she was one of them.

Shepard took a half step behind her and there was a faint grumble. “Not the _best_ start to our partnership, Aria.”

“How things begin isn't nearly as important as how they end.” Aria continued walking, did not bother to even glance back as she spoke. She stopped beside Bray, who had taken up his position at the conn. “Bray, move through the relay. Signal the fleet to wait. They only follow on _my_ command.”

Aria turned and glanced at Shepard as she took a position at the center of the bridge. She held her head high, looking down slightly at Shepard as the woman stepped up beside her. The human was shorter than she had thought. Or course many of the occasions she had seen Shepard, she herself was seated. Lounging on the couch in Afterlife, that was where she was meant to be. It was where she would be again when this was all over.

Bray brought the cruiser in close to the relay as the computer negotiated their route with the device. She felt the faint shudder pass through the hull beneath her feet just before they jumped half way across the galaxy. Shepard frowned beside her and she simply nodded with a huff. The human clearly was not used to being on a ship the size of a cruiser.

Aria smiled to herself the moment they hit the other side of the relay with another shudder. The Sahrabarik system was dominated by the asteroid belt that protected Omega. When it came into view, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. _Home. I'm finally coming home. And Shepard is going to make it possible for me to take back that which is mine_.

Walking around the holo grid, she leaned on the railing and glared at Omega's defensive systems. Glancing back toward Bray, she barked. “Head for the command ship.”

“Cruiser. I don't have you on the flight plan. Identify yourself.” came the growling voice of an altered Cerberus commander.

At her nod, Bray activated the recorded message from the former captain. “This is Captain Lance. Run voice recognition alpha, tango, zed. We took damage. Seeking repairs.”

Aria sneered at the memory of forcing the man to record that message. He was bloody, barely conscious and willing to do almost anything to save his own neck. If he had been any kind of captain, he would have put that feeling into saving his crew, but he was _Cerberus_. In her book, they were worse than the lowest scum of the galaxy.

“Identity confirmed, Captain. Hold for approach authorization.” came the confirmation she knew they would hear after only a couple of heartbeats.

“How did you get the captain to say that?” Shepard asked her suspiciously.

“The _hard_ way.” Aria said proudly. She had beaten the man bloody with her own hands.

Shepard simply stared at her. She ignored the look in the woman's eyes. If their positions were reversed, she knew the commander might have done the same damn thing. Her eyes trailed down to the small data storage tag hanging with her Alliance dogtags before the woman tucked them inside the upper rim of her hardsuit. _No, she wouldn't do the things I've done. Not even to win this war, but... for_ _ **him**_ _... for her_ _ **bondmate**_ _, she might just slaughter her way through an entire fleet... just to save_ _ **him**_.

It was an enlightening bit of information. Aria had not realized the commander had bonded with anyone. Oh but she knew who it must be. He was at her side everywhere she went, shared in every plan and strategy the woman implemented. And he had nearly died in Shepard's arms right here, on Omega barely a year ago. Archangel was possibly the only male alive who could tame the great Commander Shepard. But she had to wonder, had he tamed the woman or had she tamed the turian?

Bray was allowing them to drift just a fraction and she placed a hand on his chair with a nod of approval. “That's it. Nice... and slow.”

“Be patient. Get as close as you can.” Shepard said quietly as Bray increased their drift toward the rest of the feet.

“Fire!” Aria snapped with a growl as they drew in close to the other ship. The other ship did not stand a chance, even with its size. “Signal the fleet through the relay!”

A moment later, a sizable fleet of asari ships snapped into being around their cruiser. Aria leaned over the batarian's seat a fraction and watched her fleet emerge from the relay on his tactical display. A greasy smile slid across her face at the ease with which this plan was coming together.

“We're through. Head straight for the station.” she said in a calmer voice.

“We're being hailed by the general.” Bray stated as he tapped a few keys on his console.

“Should be interesting. Put him through.” Aria purred as she turned toward the holo display in the center of the bridge.

A moment later, the QEC shifted and evolved into General Petrovsky as he crossed his arms. “Aria... I knew this had to be you. You'll never make it. Call it off... now.”

“You're barking up the wrong tree, General, but maybe you can convince my partner...” Aria leaned forward over the railing to glare at the human.

Shepard stepped forward into the range of the QEC and the man turned his head to gaze at her. “Commander Shepard? I've heard great things about you.”

“I doubt the Illusive Man thinks of me that highly.” Shepard said with an edge of irritation in her voice.

“ _I_ do my own research, Commander. A pity you left Cerberus. We all sabotage ourselves in nefarious ways. Perhaps deep down, you fear success.” the man stroked his beard thoughtfully as his attention returned to the asari. “And Aria clearly thinks seeing you will unsettle me. Now it's my turn. I see you've gone to the trouble of augmenting that ship with Silaris armoring. An exorbitant waste. I've made improvements to Omega's outer defenses. My cannons will cut through you at will.”

“Sounds pretty confident.” Shepard mentioned quietly.

Aria's frown was deepening with every word that spewed from the man's lips. She relented with a nod. “Yeah. He does.”

The man waved his hand dismissively at them. “So again. I say _turn back_.”

“Let's see what you've got, Oleg.” Aria purred and leaned on the railing once again. “End transmission.”

Moving around the QEC as it returned to the strategic view of Omega, Aria traced her hand around the railing. After a moment, she spoke again. “That went well. Set preset course – we're ramming the station. Everyone! Brace for impact!”

“Are you crazy? You'd kill everyone on this ship just to overthrow him?” Shepard was in her face in an instant.

“Relax... we'll... probably survive the crash. This ship is equipped with disruptors to take out Omega's kinetic barriers on impact. That barrier will stop my ships from landing otherwise.” Aria wanted the human on edge. She had seen her work. The commander worked best under pressure.

“That's not very reassuring.” Shepard grumbled as she took a spare seat along one of the outer bulkheads and strapped herself in.


	30. Hanger Bay Twenty-Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus has managed to land near the escape pod he followed beyond Omega's kinetic barriers.

Garrus did not like this plan one bit. He had managed to enter the system unnoticed, cloaked by the Cerberus Cruiser's kinetic frequencies. When Shepard had said she was taking him with her, he assumed she meant aboard that cruiser. Instead, he had been forced to follow at a distance until he could precisely time and gauge their sensor sweeps. Then he had tucked his tiny fighter in as closely to their hull as he dared. His position in the Hierarchy had some pull, but he had still been forced to call in a couple of favors for the turian fighter he reclined in now. He had almost forgotten the level of comfort his people put into the design of the one-man fighter.

Aria's plan must have been going smoothly until her ship opened fire on the much larger vessel before it. He suspected that must have been part of the plan as well. The cruiser punched through the blazing mass as it listed to starboard. He followed quickly, his fighter's engine screaming as he pushed past the debris.

“What is she doing?” he grumbled when he saw the cruiser alter its course. His scanner let out a blip as it calculated the vessel's current trajectory. The turian's eyes widened and his mandibles dropped in a mixture of shock and dread. “ _Spirits..._ ”

The cruiser was taking heavy fire as it continued toward the station. Rare as his prayers were, he prayed now that they made it. Aria had to have some sort of plan that did not involve them dying in a ball of fire against the station. The asari did not strike him as the type to have a death wish.

Garrus gasped in real distress when he saw flames burst from the hull as the ship drew nearer the station. His heart was hammering its way into his throat as he closed his eyes momentarily against the sight. He could not watch her die again. Not like this.

A proximity alarm sounded seconds after a muffled explosion and his eyes snapped open. There were escape pods launching from the cruiser. His ship was not much bigger than those pods and he shot toward them with renewed hope. He would follow them into the hole the cruiser was bound to punch in Omega's kinetic barrier. Slipshod as it was, he had to admit, it was not a bad plan. He only hoped Shepard made it out the other side in one piece.

When a pod exploded to his right, he thought his number was up. His hands zipped over the controls and brought his fighter alongside another pod just before it punched through the station's hull. He followed it in and landed a couple hundred feet away.

Before the dust had even settled, Shepard burst forth from the escape pod's hatch. His breath caught as she launched herself into the air and came down fists first on an unsuspecting Cerberus trooper. She reminded him of something he had read from human mythology; a Valkyrie.

Wasting no more time, Garrus popped the canopy on his fighter and hopped out, assault rifle ready. He was unloading rounds on the troopers heading toward his bondmate bare seconds after his feet hit the deck. She glanced his way with a smirk just once before hitting several troopers closing in on her with a yell and a biotic blast.

“I thought I told you to leave your crew behind.” Aria barked as she sidestepped one of her own fallen crew for cover.

“I did.” Shepard said as the turian tucked himself into cover with them.

“I followed. Knew there was going to be trouble.” Garrus said smoothly as he aimed around the corner and popped a couple of troopers.

Aria shook her head, clearly irritated before her attention shifted. “Hope the other escape pods made it.”

Garrus did not comment. He knew she had just thrown away more than half her crew to reach Omega. Sacrifice was a part of war, every turian had that drilled into him from birth, but what she had done... He could not, would not have done it. That kind of sacrifice was closer to slaughter.

“What's the plan?” the turian grumbled after a moment.

“What's our target?” Shepard asked a heartbeat later.

“Need to hit the Defense System Station, shut down Omega's outer defenses so my ships can land.” Aria was tossing out shots randomly as she spoke. “If we don't, they'll be blown to bits like we were.”

“Got it.” Shepard said and glanced toward the turian with a nod before moving off out of cover quickly. She fired a couple of shots and took out one Cerberus trooper while the other took out the vorcha behind her.

“This is what I brought you for: _ground assault_.” Aria gave her a meaningful look as the commander slipped back into cover. “In combat, what you say goes.”

Shepard nodded. “Makes sense. We play to our strengths.”

“I know where we need to go and you can get us there.” Aria said and glared at Garrus for a moment. “I suppose _you'll_ help with that.”

“Where _Shepard_ goes...” he cocked his assault rifle with a dramatic flare. “ _I_ go.”

“Fine. Just stay out of my way.” Aria growled.

“Alright, let's move.” Shepard grumbled at them both.

“I'm back, you fuckers.” Aria growled as she blew one trooper off his feet with a pistol shot to the chest.

A pistol... Garrus had never taken Aria for a pistol kind of woman. She reminded him of the type that would carry the biggest, meanest gun she could get her hands on. Some part of him suspected her biotics must make up for her choice in weapons. She had fought against, and beaten, Patriarch after all. He knew a little something about that krogan after having spent some time drinking with Wrex. He had been a warlord once. The very mention of his name had inspired song. When Aria had beaten him, his name was lost to history. There were those, like Wrex, who remembered it, however.

Peeking around the edge of their shelter, Garrus took note of exactly where they were. Hanger bay twenty-eight. He knew that bay well. This was the same place he had picked off the mercs gunning for Liara and Feron, the very same place Shepard's cryo-pod had occupied during its last days on Omega. A chill raced up his spine at the thought. When it was here, he had been unable to force himself to examine it. Liara had confirmed his suspicions a few months ago. In away, he wished she had not.

Shepard grunted and threw out a warp at a hidden trooper gunning for them. Exhausted as he knew she was, her biotics were costing her already. This fight was only going to get worse. That was why he had insisted he was coming along even when it became clear he would not be able to board Aria's ship. The asari had gone to great lengths to ensure the Normandy's crew remained behind.

The turian's train of thought suddenly derailed when Shepard pulled that Vanguard trick again. One moment she was beside him, the next she was blasting forward in a blinding streak to pummel a couple of troopers with a glowing fist. When she ducked down behind a bank of consoles, he could tell she had taken a couple of hard hits to her shields.

Glancing at Aria, he nodded toward Shepard and took off in the commander's direction. The asari was hot on his heels. This was going too smooth. Something big was about to happen, he could feel it all the way to his thulium laced bones.

“Dammit! Our pod took out the main exit.” Aria snarled as she headed for the blast door controls. “Aria to fleet. You alive out there?”

“Barely. Holding our own with the Cerberus fleet, but Omega's defenses are shredding us!” came the female reply.

“Keep my army _intact_ , Jarral. That is your _only_ job.” Aria bit back as the blast doors began to lower.

Garrus let out a quiet sigh and cringed when the rest of the bay came into view. He had been wrong, this had been the staging area for the fight to see Shepard's remains safely off to the Lazarus Project. He did not know why it still affected him so much. She was alive. He held her in his arms every night now. Yet here he was, still having issues facing the places her remains had stood within. He thought that might be it in a nutshell. Her remains. She had been dead for two years, dead to him and everyone else who knew her. Cerberus might have been reviving her, but... For a fraction of that time at least, she had been beyond mortal reach, beyond his reach. He had mourned her the entire time and it had never gotten any easier.

Looking around for a moment, while he still had a chance, he realized he never wanted to see Omega again. This place was full of memories he wanted to bottle up and cast aside. He knew he would never regret the memories of his team and all the good they had done, but he would just as soon toss those of their deaths out an airlock.

“Tell your boss, I'm coming for him!” Aria bellowed as a trooper scrambled out of cover to fire at them.

“That's... um... that's not exactly... possible.” Garrus said as the man dropped.

“No, but it felt good to say it.” Aria huffed what might have been a laugh.

“Guardian at one o'clock!” Garrus barked as he dropped behind cover and swapped out his assault rifle for the widow. He lined up the shot with barely a second glance and fired. The Guardian's shield warped inward and the man went down hard.

“Nice shot.” Aria commented with a note of envy in her voice.

“Huh...” Garrus huffed and looked the rifle over affectionately. “I _love_ this rifle.”

“New girlfriend? Won't your _bondmate_ be jealous?” Aria asked as she darted forward.

“Hmm... maybe.” Garrus hummed and glanced toward Shepard. There was a smirk on her face. A moment later it struck him to wonder how much Aria knew. “Wait... how...?”

“I still have my resources, Vakarian.” Aria threw the purring reply over her shoulder.

“Crap.” he grumbled and moved forward.


	31. Shadows of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is beginning to worry that her turian's mind is not in the here and now.

Shepard glared at Aria. It was no secret that she and Garrus were bonded, but they were not going out of their way to announce it either. She had to wonder how the asari had discovered that tidbit of information. Shifting from cover to cover, she realized it must not have been hard at all. Her dogtags and the data tag were exposed, dangling outside her armor. Normally she had those tucked inside the hardsuit somewhere. It did not take quantum science to figure it out with the Alliance and Hierarchy logos emblazoned together on front and back of the tag. Then there was the fact that she and Garrus had been virtually joined at the hip since his near death on Omega. If she were honest with herself, it was blazingly obvious. Even if they had not been legally bonded, it was clear they were joined on some level.

When another Guardian stepped out from behind a stack of crates, she realized this was not the time nor the place to contemplate Aria's knowledge. She threw a warp at the trooper with a grunt and knocked his shield from his hands. Without a second's hesitation, she fired her pistol at him, taking him through the lens of his helmet. He dropped like a sack of rocks.

Shepard realized this was going to be a rough ride when the wave of dizziness hit her. Putting a hand up to her nose, she wiped away a trace amount of blood. _Implant must have been rattled in the crash. That's just great. Or maybe it's that damn gray box._ Whatever it was, she knew for a certainty that the stakes in this mission just jumped up several knotches.

Glancing toward Garrus, she meant to keep him in the dark about just how much this mission might cost her. All thoughts of that evaporated at the haunted look plastered across his features. She had not realized how much being back here might affect him. The way his eyes kept tying to take in everything at once, the way they landed on her regularly and the way his mandibles fluttered out of his direct control, she knew it was bad. If he had been human, he would have been pulled from active duty the instant the symptoms of PTSD presented themselves. But he was not human and she had no idea how turians dealt with the traumas of war.

Keeping an eye on him was all she could really do for him just now. She realized her bondmate was going to have to tough it out and power through whatever he was feeling here. That was the only way they were getting through this mission.

Edging forward, she nodded to him when she caught his eyes once more. His expression relaxed a fraction only, but he remained on high alert. The sooner they were done with Omega, she realized the better off they would be. Aria could take her empire and stuff in her 'azure'. She thought that was what the asari called their nether region. If Wrex was to be believed, they did not have the typical female parts below the belt. It was not something she really cared to find out either.

“Ground team, report in. Bray, you there?” Aria called over her comm link the second they entered the elevator.

“Affirmative, but only six pods made it. Various entry points.” Bray's deep batarian voice came blaring over Aria's omni-tool.

“Rally them to you, then head for the rendezvous hanger. Start prepping our ships to land.” Aria said. It almost sounded as if there was a note of regret in her voice at his news. Glancing toward Shepard and Garrus, her tone sharpened. “Let's hustle. Every minute, more of my ships get obliterated out there.”

Garrus grunted and moved on ahead the second the elevator opened. He motioned for them to follow him as he took cover and began picking off troopers around the welcome holo. Shepard frown at the half glazed look in his eyes. Somehow, she did not think he was truly seeing what was presently before them. She suspected he had fought through this level before and it must have been traumatic.

“We're getting close to the external defensive systems. Those cannons will rip the transport to shreds if we don't stop them.” Garrus breathed as the last trooper dropped. He darted to the right, hopping up on a platform to key in a string of codes on the console there. His next words were a mutter of something close to pride. “Vortash's codes are still working...”

Shepard was beginning to think her bondmate might be in serious trouble now. He never mentioned the names of his teammates. She knew them from the dossier only. Their names were etched into the frame of his visor, but she had only caught glimpses of that. She had seen the rough scratches and burns that obliterated Sidonis' name, and she had seen her own name further back, displaced from theirs with a bit of turian script beside it. It had surprised her that he had used the universal English letters to put those names in place.

Now, hearing the name of his former tech expert on his breath was disturbing. It told her just how deeply taken he might be by a memory and the shadows that stalked this place for him. She hated herself for it, but she knew she would use whatever advantage she could get in this mission. If that meant her bondmate had to relive some of his worst memories... she was not sure she could let him go through that. She was also not sure she had much influence over that either. He might well sink deeply into those memories as they moved through the station.

“The next area needs to be pressurized.” Aria said as they drew near a door that was obviously shorting out.

“Not the first time the maintenance drones screwed up and let this section depressurize... This is how we pulled Weaver from the slaver ship.” Garrus muttered as he slung his rifle onto his back and stepped over to a console and began hacking. “You _owe_ me for this one, Aria.”

“Just what I wanted to hear, thanks. In your debt again, and Shepard's as well if we pull this off.” Aria grumbled.

“I think you'll live.” Garrus grumbled as his hands raced over the keys.

“Shit!” Shepard snapped when she heard the muffled voices from behind. There were a number of troopers flooding into the area they had just cleared.

“Feels _good_ to let loose.” Aria breathed, flexing and stretching as her entire body was engulfed in biotic power. A moment later, she yelled and let loose a biotic blast on par with Samara's level of skill. A dozen troopers went down under that blast.


	32. Go with the Flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is kicking himself for a weakness he has no control over.

There was something very wrong here. Memory was overlapping reality and he was finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the two. Running Vortash's codes, he rubbed the heel of his right palm into his cybernetic eye. The tissue around it twinged, but the eyeball itself felt nothing from the pressure. It served as a reminder, an anchor to reality. Butler, Vortash, Weaver... they were all dead, ghosts that still stalked the corridors of Omega. He heard the rumble of the atmospheric fans re-pressurizing the next zone and he wondered for a moment if it was real or simply a memory.

The sounds of fighting erupted around him and he dove for cover behind the console. At least that much was still intact. That would be with him for life. Life, he wondered what that might be like after the war; with Shepard. _Shepard..._ His eyes locked on her for a split second before he took careful aim at a target racing toward her. She was alive and not some bucket of decaying muck floating in a cryopod.

Once his target was down, he drilled the heel of his palm into the frill over his temple with a grunt and shook his head. _Get a_ _ **grip**_ _, Vakarian! You're an officer in the Hierarchy! More than that, you're a_ _ **Praetor**_ _. You_ _ **can't**_ _fall apart now! When this is all over..._ _ **maybe**_ _... maybe then... but not now. Shepard_ _ **needs**_ _you, dammit!_

Garrus shifted and rolled out of cover to tail the commander when she ran back the way they had come. He took cover behind a stack of crates as she continued forward. It offered him a better vantage point than his previous position. The crates were not perfectly aligned, there was a niche at the perfect level, when he knelt down behind them, to rest the muzzle of the rifle in.

Shepard dropped behind one of the many barriers still in effect from an active shield generator even as he aimed at a target rushing up to her right. One clean headshot later and the trooper went down in a flail of arms and legs. The thump of his impact with the deck plates drew her attention sharply. She glanced back at him with a nod and a half smirk before slinging out a singularity to capture those who were advancing on her from the front.

This was a rhythm he was accustomed to and he lost himself in it for a time. The ghosts of the past receded as he danced dangerously with death at the commander's back. The AI governing Omega's security system droned on about something, but he did not catch it as he took down a good many more troopers.

“Die!” Aria growled off to his left and for half a heartbeat he had to remind himself that she was not Mierin.

“Don't let them get through that door!” bellowed a Cerberus commander.

The turian's attention snapped to the troopers just beyond the asari. They were pouring in behind them, blocking the door and their way out. This was bad, very bad. Worse was the fact that his focus was wavering again. Bits and pieces of another battle here obscured and overlayed the present. Shepard's cryo-pod, Liara, Feron and his team, they all danced before his eyes for several seconds. He raged at himself viciously and jerked his mind back to the here and now. _You're going to get yourself killed! Worse, you're going to get your bondmate killed!_

Bondmate, yes... that was right. He and Shepard had bonded after spending an amazing night together. He mumbled to himself in order to refocus his mind. “Best night of my life...”

When the human woman bolted from cover and ran up a short set of stairs, he cringed inwardly. Up there, that was the last place he had been when her cryo-pod had been here. He realized now, that some part of his mind was refusing to accept that his life this last year or so was more than a dream. Maybe a fabrication of the afterlife. Somewhere along the way, he still had not convinced himself that he had actually survived the merc assault on that balcony.

“Re-pressurization at forty-seven percent.” the AI droned.

Swinging his rifle around to pick off a couple of troopers coming up behind him, Garrus moved out of cover. His position was compromised with those coming around to guard that blast door. He swapped the widow for the assault rifle and mowed down the others that came into view. Much as he did not want to admit it, he was in his element. At least for the moment. Later, he would wind down with some much needed calibrations. Running numbers and squeezing out microns of performance, that was his real passion. He could work that magic with any system. It did not need to be firing algorithms for a giant gun.

“Don't let up! We need access to that blast door!” Shepard shouted as she threw out a shockwave and knocked several men off their feet.

Minutes only, that was what they needed. That was what Sensat had said when he blew the blast door leading into this bay. That salarian was a magician with explosives. _Was_... he shook his head and blinked hard, forcing his mind back to the here and now. He needed off Omega and soon. The humans had a name for what he was experiencing. They called it PTSD. As a general rule, any soldier diagnosed with it was pulled from active duty.

Garrus was beginning to understand why. His people had many names for it, but instead of pulling a capable soldier, they issued a cocktail of stimulants and anti-psychotics to be carried at all times. Moving off up those stairs after Shepard, he ducked down between the railing and a crate. Glancing around, he made sure his position was secured and opened a small compartment in the bracer over his left forearm. He palmed the pre-loaded syringe and glared at it. _I've been clean for over a year. Last thing I need is another round of stims_. He knew, however, that one dose was not going to get him hooked again. One dose would act as the delivery agent for the anti-psychotics he clearly needed to remain focused and centered.

Taking a deep breath, he shifted his grip on the syringe and jabbed the needle into the tender hide along the side of his neck. It was done before he could have second thoughts. It burned like hellfire as the drugs hit his system. Gasping from the jolt of the stims as much as the sudden clarity of thought, he hated himself for the weakness. When this war was over, he planned to have his military status deactivated. There was no way in the seventh level of hell he was ever going to subject himself to this kind of stress again. For now, he meant to go with the flow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay to short chapters. Interruptions truly are the death of fiction, guys. Trust me. I'm dealing with that... stuck at home.


	33. A Shocking Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is concerned for her turian, but there's a mission and little time.

“Re-pressurization at seventy-nine percent.” the AI droned with a warble.

Shepard glanced toward the blast door they were waiting on. She caught a glimpse of the top of the turian's fringed head above a crate near the top of the stairs. Making her way back to him, her eyes narrowed when she saw his hand cast the used syringe away. She knew he would not resort to stims again unless they were the only option left to him. The residue within the syringe was orange, she realized as she drew nearer. _Not stims then, something else_. Stims were yellowish, at least the kind safe for turian use. He was rubbing the side of his neck when she squatted down into cover at his back.

“You ok?” she asked quietly.

“Hmm... ask me later... when we get off this rock.” his voice was strained as he twisted around to look at her.

“Try to stop me.... _please!_ ” Aria snarled at a small cluster of troopers a few yards away just before virtually blowing them apart with a massive warp.

“She's having way too much fun.” Shepard commented.

Garrus simply grunted and shifted to glance around the crate before taking careful aim with the widow. He picked off three troopers in quick succession.

“You sure you're ok?” Shepard tried again and finally realized she would have to enlighten him. Her next words were soft, tinged with deep concern. “I saw the syringe....”

“Military issue meds... They're meant to help with focus under... certain kinds of stress.” Garrus answered distantly as he shifted his aim at a target closing in behind the asari. His finger twitched on the trigger and the man went down. “Nothing to worry about, ma-kee-sa.”

She listened for the tells and heard only sharp focus in his voice. Stims tended to slur his words ever so slightly. Nodding, she finally relented. “Alright. We go as soon as that door opens.”

“Re-pressurization complete. Access enabled.” the AI blurted as if on queue.

“That's done it.” Aria barked as she took down the last trooper gunning for her.

Shepard moved off toward the blast door, glancing back at Garrus once as he got to his feet and followed. He seemed steadier, much more stable than he had when they first entered this zone. Whatever he had taken must have done that, but it still worried her.

“One of our pods.” Aria commented as they cleared the smaller access door.

There were small blazes scattered everywhere and in the middle rested an escape pod. It was hard to tell if anyone had survived. As they drew closer, it became clear the occupants must have been burned to death. “We were lucky.”

“Nothing we can do for them now. Let's press on.” Aria grumbled as she glared at the burning pod.

Jarral came over Aria's comm and informed her their ships could not continue to hold against the station's defenses. Aria barely gave the other woman time to finish before she was snapping at her. “We're right outside the Defense Station. Hold tight.”

Garrus stepped forward and began hacking the door lock with a hard look for the asari. He glanced at Shepard with a very different kind of look. She saw the affection in his eyes he hid from the rest of the world. Whatever he was going through here on Omega, she knew they would get through it together.

“Security override in effect.” the station's system droned on as the door opened at the turian's skilled hands.

“Defend the Station at all costs!” came the growling snarl of an altered Cerberus trooper.

Shepard slung a warp out at the first trooper that came within range. He grunted and went down, armor rippling under the affects of the blast. These 'improved' troopers did not scream as their flesh dissolved. She found it more disturbing that the human operatives she had faced only a year ago.

The moment she thought it was clear, she rolled out of cover and started to run for the console on the other side of the room. It was a mistake. Her gasp turned to something closer to a ragged scream as the shock of electricity lit her nervous system on fire. One of the troopers she thought was down took out their own shield generator just as she came up level with it. She was knocked backward and barely managed to crawl behind the cover of a bank of consoles.

Pressing her back against the base of the console, she wrapped her arms around her middle and begged whatever deity might be listening that the burning under her skin stopped. She heard Aria throw out a shockwave as her head swam. Garrus must have been mowing them down with his assault rifle because she heard that rattling too.

Barely a moment of silence had fallen before she felt a large three-fingered hand on her knee through her armor. She bit back the cry of pain the sensation caused her. Raising her head, she met his eyes and saw an unreadable expression pass across his features. It was bad, she knew it must be. She had felt the old scars on her face blister and crisp as they had reopened under the shock. Half the circuitry in her body was trying to short out and she made a mental note to avoid getting close to shield generators like the plague.

“You alright?” Garrus asked quietly as he gingerly touched her face with a gloved hand.

The pain was receding. His touch did not cause her to feel as if she had been hit with a bolt of lightening. Nodding, she pressed his hand against her cheek. Her voice, when it came, sounded raw to her own ears. “I will be.”

The turian's eyes widened as they rose to something to her right. “Crap!”

Glancing that way, she had not time to toss any skills at the trooper. Garrus grabbed the man by his belt and shoved. As the trooper stumbled backward, she saw the glowing heat sync lodged behind the buckle. Ducking, she felt the turian's weight come down over her in an effort to protect her from the coming blast.

It was messy when it came. Blood and gore coated them even as they were peppered with bits and pieces of armor. Garrus grunted in disgust as he raised up and slung some of shredded entrails off his hand. “That... uh... that could have... gone better.”  
“We're alive. I'd say it went well enough.” Shepard whispered hoarsely as she climbed painfully to her feet.

“Right. We should see about the control system.” he grumbled as he followed her example. He had taken the worst of the gore in protecting her. His entire back was completely coated. There were even bits of entrails hanging from his fringe.


	34. Disabling the Guns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is realizing just how vital his team's presence really was to Omega security.

“Ugh.. you two are... disgusting...” Aria growled.

Garrus simply gave her a look. He was not sure if she would read it correctly and he honestly did not care. Something of Shepard's attitude was rubbing off on him and his mandibles flared slightly. As he passed the asari, he swiped the gore out of his fringe and put his drenched hand on the shoulder of her very white jacket.

“We like it messy... Haven't you noticed?” his voice contained an almost seductive purr as he leaned down near her ear flange. As he passed her, he gripped her padded shoulder firmly before removing his hand.

“You _didn't!_ ” Aria raged as she glanced down at the gooey three-fingered hand-print. Snarling wordlessly, she glared at him. “ _Ugh.... goddess!_ I should have let Jaroth have you the second he demanded your head!”

“But... you didn't.” Garrus glanced back over the rim of his cowl at her with a wide flaring of his mandibles. “Admit it, Aria. You liked having me around. I'm the best thing that's happened to Omega in the last century.”

“ _Entertaining_.... though you may have been....” she growled and pointed at the red gloppy smear. “doesn't make up for... _this!_ ”

“He did you a favor.” Shepard purred even though it was clear she was still in some pain. She picked at some unseen thread on Aria's jacket.

“How do you figure?” Aria snapped.

“You didn't look battle-worn enough to be convincing.” Shepard said simply before she too passed by the asari.

Garrus huffed a laugh at the dark look that pinned itself to Aria's face. A year ago, he would never have dreamed of putting his hand on her shoulder. Just a few months ago, he would not have left a big dripping smear of entrails there. She would murder him herself for that if she got the chance. He knew his brain was swimming in a lovely cocktail he would not be seeing a repeat performance of. They were making him cockier than normal, drawing out the side of him that reveled in mischief and rebellion. He kept a tight reign on that side for very good reasons. Archangel lived and thrived in that side of his nature. He had come face-to-face with exactly what he was capable of and it scared the hell out of him.

Shepard joined him near the control console as he began hacking the system. Vortash's codes were not working here. He hit firewall after firewall before deciding to try some of Weaver's. The young human female had been brilliant in a good many skills. A teenager, he had later learned. Barely more than a child when the slavers took her. If not for Sensat and himself, she might have gone on to live out her days as a slave. _But she might still be alive_. He shook his head at that faintly when her codes did not work either.

To her credit, Shepard said nothing as she hovered at his shoulder. She continued to keep watch around the room even though a trickle of blood slid down her left cheek from one of the open scars. The yellow-orange glow of the circuitry beneath was unnerving as he caught it out of the corner of his eye. He had thought, when the Reaper node was removed, that those might stop reopening. They had not opened from stress since. He should have guessed the sort of trauma she had just endured might do it though.

After a couple of minutes, he decided to string a couple of Vortash's codes into Weaver's. It was last ditch before dismantling the console and tearing out the wires. It did the trick. The defensive system accepted the code and powered down the external weapons. He glanced up and out the viewport with a faint tsking sound as he realized just how close his entire team truly had been.

“Jarral, defenses are down. Signal the surviving ships to converge on the rendezvous point.” Aria said into the comm the second those guns went down.

“Aye. Approach trajectories plotted. We're already queuing up.” came Jarral's confirmation.

Aria paced away from the viewport. “Bray, come in. Status?”

“Rendezvous site secured. Hanger doors enabled. Will have them open soon.” the batarian stated in a strained voice.

Aria frowned at that. “Need them open now! My birds are coming in. Prep for reception.”

“What exactly _is_ this rendezvous point?” Shepard asked suspiciously as she stepped away from Garrus and stopped just feet from Aria.

“That's where we're headed. It's a bunker I established on D deck for my... more sensitive operations.” Aria said as she turned to face the commander fully. “It's utterly impenetrable – with its own secret hanger and dock. Independent power source, life support, munitions. You'll see.”

Garrus watched Shepard's expression shift from concentration to suspicion once again as she glanced up and over her shoulder. He followed her line of sight as his hearing receptor picked up the faint whirring sound. Just over her right shoulder, high up in the brace beams, he saw it; a camera and it was active. Before he could react, Shepard drew her pistol and blew the thing off its mount. It was something he would have done.

“There's a good chance the general knows where we're going.” Shepard's eyes turned back toward the asari as she growled the words softly.

“No time for sight seeing then.” Aria shook her head. Into her comm, she said. “Bray, stay sharp. You might get visitors.”

“ _Terific_.” Bray grumbled on the other end.

Aria took point barely a heartbeat later. “I've locked down the way we came. We'll have to take the far exit.”

As they passed through a set of doors, Shepard glanced up at the monitor with a sneer. “Looks like the other pod teams are causin' trouble.”

“Good.” Aria purred as they saw a vorcha beating the hell out of a Cerberus trooper.

Garrus thought a security monitor in the elevator was a stellar idea. It had to be a turian design. Of course, he knew one of the first recorded leaders of Omega had been a turian. He must have had the security system updated. The rest was history. As the station evolved, those systems had simply been upgraded and maintained.

“Alert, alert. Defensive System Station compromised.” the station VI complained. “Outer defenses down. Unrecoverable. Armed response initiative T-752.”

“We're causing a stir... I like it.” Aria purred as the elevator stopped on D Deck.

Garrus grabbed Shepard and slammed her against the wall to his left, putting himself between her and the trooper with the grenade launcher. The projectile missed them by inches only and she locked eyes with him with a rye smile. Having spent so much time in the company of species with lips and cheeks, he had found it easier to read them than his own people sometimes.

Glancing back, he twisted just enough to allow his pistol the freedom it needed. A clean shot through the helmet and the trooper went down with a heavy thud and the rattle of the teargas canisters he was toting. The second the man went down, the turian released his protective hold on his bondmate.

The second trooper in the small checkpoint room went down at Aria's bioticly charged hands. Garrus kept his eyes on every nook and cranny as he moved forward, toward the door at the other end of the room. It did not open at his approach and so he began hacking the lock.

The second the door released them into the next zone, Aria stepped forward with a reverent sigh. “Ah, the Omega skyline. Now I feel like I'm back.... but.... what are those things in the distance...?”

“Looks like some kind of force field.” Shepard speculated.

Garrus tapped his visor and allowed it to zoom in enough for a better look. “Definitely force field generators. Looks like they're supporting a massive kinetic barrier between them.”

“That's not good.” Aria grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters are coming slow. Sorry about that. We'll get there though. =)


	35. Gang Tags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and her team begin seeing gang tags as they move deeper into the bowels of Omega.

The sounds of gunfire off to the right drew Shepard's attention and she moved off toward a half blocked entrance. She ignored the VI when Garrus tapped the foot activation near it. It droned on with something regarding Cerberus and failure to comply. She huffed a disgusted sigh and shifted to a position against the door frame for a better view of who was shooting who.

“Some of my men.” Aria murmured as she drew up near her position and peeked around the corner.

“Please be advised that any non-human bearing weapons on the station will be shot on sight.” the VI informed them.

“No tolerance policy. Good to see some things are constant in the galaxy.” Garrus grumbled as he hefted his sniper rifle up onto his shoulder with practiced ease.

Shepard ran her hand up the forearm of his free hand to his elbow and squeezed faintly. “That's why we're here. Taking back this station gives us all a better foothold against the Reapers.”

Those icy blue eyes locked to hers with a renewed look of determination setting around them. It was clear to her now that her bondmate had some doubts about handing the station back over to Aria. The asari might rule with an iron fist, but she was not like Cerberus. She would not convert the people here into altered slaves to wage war against those trying to save them all. He knew that as well as she did.

With a flick of his unscarred mandible and nod, he broke eye contact to scan the area for the best route. Shepard watched the lens of his visor shift from target to target as he tracked everything on their level. She tapped the new addition to her own gear locked over ears and brought up the holo-lens of her own wrap-around visor. Following his light of sight, she adjusted the settings to enable similar feeds as those her turian received from his own unit. He noticed and flicked that mandible at her again with a faint chuckle.

An opening came and Shepard took it, vaulting over the crate blocking half the doorway. The moment she was over it, the asari down the hall went down under gunfire. A Cerberus trooper stepped out of the adjacent corridor and deliberately stepped on the woman's throat before firing two rounds into her face. The second the asari was dead, he turned his attention to Shepard and her team.

This one was good. He rolled out of the direct line of fire when Shepard slung out the shockwave. It barely affected his footing as he came back up to his feet. He fired several assault rounds in their direction, but Shepard ignored them as she ran for cover near him. Most of his rounds pinged harmlessly off her shields or armor... most of them. One grazed her right arm between armor pieces to burn through the flex-mesh beneath. It burned like hell-fire, but she ignored it.

“Die!” Aria growled as she threw a warp at the trooper before taking a position near the commander.

Garrus had taken a position not far away behind another crate. His head popped up briefly to take aim with the widow. From one breath to the next, the Cerberus trooper dropped like a sack of stones before the turian's skill. Shepard gave him a crooked smile and a nod before inching her way into the next part of that corridor.

“We're getting close to the rendezvous point. Let's move.” Aria grumbled as she rounded the corner and took point.

The next section was a series of interlocking rooms. Shepard stepped in, pistol at the ready and split her attention between her visor and what was before her. The visor picked up the electrical signature of the shield generator before she saw it. The moment it came into view, she fired several rounds into it. _No chance of getting nailed from that one_. She had no intention of repeating her earlier misfortune.

Moving toward the door at the far end, she noticed the big red logo spray painted on a stack of creates near it. She took a moment to wonder at its meaning. It reminded her of gang graffiti, something she was very familiar with from her teens. That could mean big trouble ahead.

“I know that symbol.” Aria stated as they drew up abreast of the crates.

“Gang tag. Who are they and will they be trouble?” Shepard asked as the door opened before her.

“The Talons. They used to deface _my_ property too.” Aria grumbled.

“They're...” Garrus sighed thoughtfully as he ran a hand over the black tag over the elevator controls. “like a bad taste you can't quite get rid of. Not as bad as the Blue Suns, mind you...”

“Will they cause us trouble?” Shepard asked.

“Can't say for sure, but... I know they can't be happy with the Cerberus presence.” Garrus nodded.

As the door opened on the level they wanted, Shepard noted another Talon symbol. She drew the attention of her team to it. And watched as Aria frowned.

“Hm, could be... evidence of a resistance.” she said nonchalantly.

“Might be useful.” Shepard nodded. The hint Garrus had dropped suggested they might be a gang of non-humans. Her team was mostly non-human. The only person she could see them having an issue with, in that case, was herself.

Passing through another door, Shepard noted the blazing fire on the next platform. The bridge between had collapsed. She dropped onto the barely attached section and caught her balance as it shook. Holding a hand up, she stalled the others until she was down on solid deck plates again.

“One of my soldiers near the force field.” Aria indicated the silhouette with a thrust of her chin as she joined the commander. “What the hell is he doing?”

Shepard hung back a little as Aria took a couple of steps forward. The soldier was clearly a vorcha and it looked as if he was testing the barrier with his fingers. The alien's head raised up and he turned suddenly as a robotic... something... dropped down behind him. He opened fire on it, just missing Shepard and Aria in the process.

The commander pushed the asari out of the way and dodged the opposite direction just in time to see the mech take the vorcha's head clean off his shoulders with a wicked looking blade. A second vorcha she had not even noticed was slammed into the barrier and cooked alive, screaming his life away piercingly.

“Mech! Take him out!” Aria bellowed as she started firing at it.

This was like no mech Shepard had ever seen. Instead of mechanical movements and a single gun, this thing moved fluidly and wielded what looked like an omni-sword. It punched that glowing blade through the crate Aria was hidden behind, forcing her to move as she fired into its face plate. Shepard threw a singularity at it to no affect. It simply refocused its attention on her.

Firing pointblank at it, she barely managed to sidestep it before it punched that blade into the crate behind her. Face-to-face with it as she was for that brief second, she could smell the gear grease lubricating its moving parts. She barely noticed the catch in her left side as she dodged away from it.

Firing on it again, she barely noticed Garrus lining up a headshot, his mandibles fluttering in anticipation. When it started moving in slow motion, she thought to worry. That blade was swinging toward her even as the turian fired a single deadly shot. She caught sight of more mechs coming through the force field even as she took a half-hopping step to the right.

“Stand still, you piece of shit!” Aria snarled as she fired on the next one charging at them.

All of this took mere seconds, but to Shepard it felt like an eternity. The mech bearing down on her went down with a sparking hole in its face plate just as the blade sheared through her shoulder pad. The impact sent her spinning and she rolled up against the debris below the bridge hard enough to rattle her bones. Her eyes snapped up to those dangling pieces of bridge with a deep sense of dread.

The turian's attention snapped to those same pieces hanging precariously over himself as well. Those crystal blue eyes snapping back to lock on her eyes between breaths as his mandibles dropped in shocked understanding. She tried to move, to reach him, to push him out of the way. Her fingers grazed his arm just before that dangling piece of bridge came down around him. The impact as much as the dust and debris from it missed her, threw her backward to land on her armored rear, shielding her eyes.


	36. Calculating Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is torn between grief and her duty to the mission at hand.

“No...” it was a gasping ragged whisper as she clawed her way toward the mound of metal that had buried her bondmate.

“These bastards are too fast! I can't hold them!” Aria shouted toward her.

Watery eyes drifting toward the asari and a handful of those advanced mechs. She reacted then. There was no thought behind it, nothing but raging pain and grief. She drew on the source of her biotics, reveling in the power that flooded through every fiber of her being. When she could pull no more, she directed the surge at those mechs in a single blinding blast. Those closest to her were vaporized.

Aria's eyes were wide and glued to her as the last of the mechs went down. Her voice was quiet when she mumbled. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

The moment the area was clear, she rounded on that pile of debris that hid Garrus. Grabbing whatever she could, she began digging, throwing chunks away as fast as humanly possible. The bridge had brought rock and destroyed crates down with it. All of this created a small mountain over the turian.

“We need to check out that force field.” Aria said off to her left.

Shepard ignored her, continuing to dig. Her breath was coming in ragged gulps. Water dripped from her jaw and she knew there were tears creating streaks in the dirt on her face. She did not care. Her heart was being crushed just as her bondmate must have been.

“Shepard...” Aria said, closer to her shoulder now. When she still did not acknowledge her, the asari barked. “Shepard!”

A stuttering breath later and she sat back, eyes locked on that pile of metal and stone. Numb, she was numb and she could use that. She could push the grief down for now. Later... later it would destroy her, but not now. Now there was still a station to take back. There was a galaxy depending on her. She had to keep going.

Another ragged breath escaped her as the asari put a hand gently on her shoulder. Her voice was soft, consoling and strange coming from the 'Queen of Omega'. “Shepard... he's... he's gone. We have to go.”

Shepard gritted her teeth with a grimace and breathed through it. Aria took her wrist, right over her bonding tattoo and attempted to pull her away. A sob escaped her then and she jerked away from the asari to sink her hands into the debris once again.

“I'm coming back for you, Garrus. I promise.... you won't be here long.” she whispered before forcing herself away from the mound.

“These force fields are going to be a problem.” Aria grumbled as she stepped up toward it.

Shepard wiped at her eyes roughly. “Are we blocked?”

“Not this time. Come here.” Aria jogged up a ramp toward a console.

The second the blast door slid up, Aria vaulted over a brace beam. With one last glance back at the mound of debris, Shepard followed her. She noticed Aria heading for a battered wall off to the far side of the room and frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Letting you in on a secret.” Aria said coyly. As the wall slid up, she nodded to the maintenance tube. “Down the ladder.”

The moment Aria joined her at the bottom of the ladder, Shepard felt eyes on her back. She heard the scuff of a foot and whirled around, pistol drawn. “Who's there? Show yourself!”

A hooded figure separated itself from the shadows and took a couple of steps forward. Tall, turian from the build and female by the gate. The dual-toned voice that spilled from the hood confirmed that. “Spirits, look who's back. Aria T'Loak.”

“Nyreen.” Aria said, lowering her weapon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Playing cat and mouse, mostly. Trying to stay alive. If it wasn't for these tunnels...” Nyreen paced and seemed to speak with her hands as much as her mouth.

“ _My_ tunnels. I'm sure glad I showed them to you.” Aria said, her voice holding a breathy quality.

If Shepard had cared to notice at that moment, she might have realized these two more than knew each other. There was something deeper passing between then that she nearly missed in her grief. If she were honest with herself, she simply did not care.

“If you hadn't, I'd be dead or locked up by now.” Nyreen shook her head, still covered by the hood.

After a steadying breath, Shepard locked eyes with the turian woman. “Aria doesn't trust easily. I guess you're a good friend.”

“I dunno... Are we, Aria?” Nyreen stopped pacing right in front of the asari. Her tone carried the hint of a betrayed lover, or so Shepard thought.

“Shepard, this is Nyreen Kandros. Ex-turian military. _We_ go way back.” Aria stated with a chill to her voice. To Nyreen she said, “I've got a lot of questions, but they'll have to wait. Follow us. We'll get you to safety.”

The turian woman crossed her arms with a nod. “I'll do my best.”

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the gun slung on the turian female's hip. Her eyes trailed back up to Nyreens emerald green orbs. “Ready to put that gun to good use?”

“You have no _idea_ how ready.” Nyreen answered in a steady dual-toned voice.

Shepard gave her a hard nod.

“So why are you back, Aria?” Nyreen asked as Shepard stepped past the pair.

“To reclaim what's mine.” Aria answered simply.

“Left something behind, I take it?” Nyreen snarked.

 _God, are all turians snarky assholes? If they are, I don't know if I can stand being near another one... not now... not after.._. She left the thought unfinished. Until she saw a mangled body, she would not believe Garrus was truly gone.

“Not something. Everything.” Aria stated with that chill again.

The next door was locked and Shepard stepped up to it severely missing her turian's superior hacking skills right then. He would have had that door open before she and the asari ever reached it. Her skills were not as keenly honed as his and it took her several long minutes to break through the code.

“Aria! You were right. We're under attack!” came Bray's voice through Aria's comm.

“What's the fleet's status?” Aria barked the question.

“Still landing inside the bunker.” came the quick reply.

“Keep the enemy out! Lock it down! Now!” she commanded.

“Lower the blast doors. Dammit, lower those doors!” Bray began barking orders at someone in the background.

The transmission cut off just as they reached a railing. Shepard looked down and then to her right before moving off in that direction. She was aching from the impact with the debris under that bridge, but there was something more. Ignoring the burning in her side, she kept moving. _No time.._.

They came to a ladder leading up and she gripped it, climbing smoothly up to the next level. The burning in her side was intensifying, but she refused to let it slow her down. Once at the top, she spotted an Atlas mech on the other side of a a window. She ducked down and took a deep breath. This was going to get ugly.

“Bray, why aren't the cannons online?” Aria demanded quietly as she and Nyreen joined the commander.

“Something's jamming them. Trying to identify.” Bray responded.

Working her way along the windows in a crouch, Shepard found the door leading out into the loading bay. The mech was surrounded by Cerberus troops. A hate she could not contain rolled through her heart at the sight of them. What they could not take, they simply destroyed. She could not begin to calculate the losses they were responsible for. The one loss that directly impacted her was Garrus. He was her reason to keep going, fighting, moving forward. Without him, she was not sure she would make it to the final push, let alone out the other side. She was not sure she even wanted to if he was not there in the end. _Maybe... maybe the Alliance... the whole galaxy... should find another fool to lead this fight. I... just... can't. I don't have it in me to do it alone_.

“Omega's mine!” Aria snapped as she entered the bay, gun blazing.

Shepard nodded to herself. She would help the asari reclaim Omega so that she could retrieve Garrus unhindered. Once it was done, she was out. One way or another, she was done. Deep down, she knew she could not let it go that easily, however. Not with so many lives riding on her victory or defeat. The Reapers were still coming.

That hatred welling up in her surged to ragging fury and she drew on her biotics. A mech that came in too close paid a heavy price as she slammed a glowing fist down on it, shattering it where it stood. Bullets flew all around her, but she did not seem to notice them as she threw out blast after blast.

“I'm back, you fuckers!” Aria laughed as she too threw out a combination of fire and biotics.

Shepard's brows raised momentarily when Nyreen hit several troopers with a shockwave. Cabal, she's Cabal, like Lilfrey, like... _him_. Slamming the commander mask back into place, she renewed her rage against Cerberus by slinging out every skill she knew. She even made up some and combined others. Once the Atlas went down, the fight was over. She ran heedlessly toward its location even as she heard Bray's voice come over Aria's comm again.

“Aria, there's a Cerberus engineer in here hacking the cannons, keeping them offline.” Bray informed them.

“We'll find him.” Aria stated confidently.

“Incoming!” Nyreen snapped as she tossed a singularity at some troopers dropping down from the level above.

Shepard wasted no time in taking as many of them out as she could target. She know understood why Garrus never took his visor off. It was a constant stream of information and tactical displays rolling before her eyes. Her visor painted targets on everything tagged as unfriendly and she followed them, pinging them. It required very little thought and she found herself simply reacting.

Turning, scanning the area, she spotted the engineer. Swapping out her pistol for the Viper she had taken to toting, she took aim and put a hole cleanly through his skull. “Got him.”

“Cannons initiating.” Bray barked. After a moment, he snarled over the comm. “Aria, the cannons have to armed manually!”

“I'm on it.” Shepard said, glancing at the asari mere seconds before another Atlas dropped in.

“The cannons are behind the Atlas.” Aria yelled as the mech began to fire on them.

“Figures...” Shepard grumbled. Taking a deep breath, she threw everything she had at that Atlas, including that massive blast of biotic energy. It was draining, but it paid off in the end.

The minute the mech was down, she ran up the stairs to the bridge controls. There was a dead asari slumped over against the main mechanism. She avoided looking into her burned out eye sockets as much as possible. The bridge extended in seconds. Aria and Nyreen ran across, both enveloped in biotic energy.

“Cannons engaged. Head to the blast doors.” Bray barked as he gingerly gripped Aria's elbow.

Shepard laid down cover fire with a pair of pistols, one had Archangel's logo clearly etched into it. She had not realized he had tucked his pistol into her armor. _When did he do that? Was it when he blew the trooper up? Did he tuck it there before we left the Citadel?_ Then it dawned on her. She had taken it before they left his apartment. He had never asked for it back before they left the Normandy.

Right then, it did not matter. She used it as keenly as she used her own to take down Cerberus and ensure their safe retreat. Just as she stepped behind the cannon line, they began to fire on the hordes of Cerberus troops that were lining up to wipe them out. She huffed a mirthless laugh and lowered her pistols before turning to walk through those blast doors.


	37. Nothing Left to Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were a number of turians among Aria's forces, Shepard avoided them like the plague.

“Aria, I know this place is built like a fortress, but is it safe now that the general is clued in?” Nyreen asked, a note of anxiety in her dual-toned voice.

“Yeah...” Shepard nodded, still feeling the numbing after affects of the intensity of her hatred and rage for Cerberus. “I feel like a sitting duck here.”

“I have no intention of sitting around, and you both should know, I assume nothing.” Aria growled as she stepped past them. “And on that front... Nyreen, you left Omega fairly angry with me. I wasn't aware you'd returned. Explain yourself.”

“The truth is, I never left.” Nyreen stated, clearly watching Aria's back for any sign of possible attack. “In fact, I went to great lengths to keep from you.”

Aria glanced around at the turian woman with an odd smile on her face before taking another couple of steps forward. “I'm not easily duped. Well done. But why?”

“I just... couldn't leave. Considering all this, I wish I had.” Nyreen shook her head.

Aria had knelt down and was inspecting a wounded turian being treated by one of her people. She glanced up, an almost seductive quality to her voice when she spoke. “Well, you always said I'd be the death of you.”

Shepard glanced between them, her tactical mind working on the problem in spite of her grief. “Nyreen has military training. We could put that to good use.”

Aria stood and turned to face her with a look that could almost have been defined as shock. “You're so quick to _trust_ , huh, Shepard?”

“I've got nothing left to lose. At any rate, this isn't about trust, but resources.” Shepard let out a tired breath.

“Nyreen never approved of Omega's – ” Aria glanced at the turian woman then. “What did you call it? 'Moral bankruptcy'. Are you willing to help defend it now?”

“You'll find me _very_ willing to help liberate the station.” Nyreen followed Aria's pacing with practiced ease.

“You're combat skills seem a little rusty, but you're still a good shot.” Aria seemed to be calculating, weighing her options before stopping before the turian. “See my duty officer.”

The turian nodded and walked away at that. Aria glared daggers at her back. Clearly there was more here than met the eye, but Shepard found she simply did not care. Whatever was going on between those two, they could keep it to themselves. She had no use for their drama so long as it did not affect the mission.

“Bray.” Aria breathed after a moment. “Keep and eye on her.”

“Will do.” the batarian nodded behind the asari and walked off in the same general direction Nyreen had gone in.

That was three days ago. In all those long seventy-two hours, Shepard had slept maybe an hour or two. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face just before that piece of bridge came down on him. Garrus, the love of her life, her bondmate... He meant everything to her... and now he was gone. She was alone in this mess now, as she had been when Cerberus first resurrected her. Aria's forces organized and sorted their wounded. As impatient as the asari seemed to be about taking the station back, she was in no hurry to actually begin the operations once those blast doors had closed. The asari maintaining the biotic field rotated shifts every few hours, in perfect sync.

The delay was fine by Shepard. She needed time to mourn, to recollect her scattered emotions and firmly weld the 'Commander Mask' back in place before she could focus on anything else. Now that they were relatively out of harm's way, at least for the moment, she took that time. There were a number of turians among Aria's forces, she avoided them like the plague. Nyreen was intriguing, but she watched her from a distance. The female came and went as she pleased, disappearing for the entire day just yesterday. She watched her leave now with a determined look in her green eyes. The turian did not go alone this time, however. She took a vorcha, an asari and two big turian men with her. They were the biggest, most muscular turians she had ever seen. It was clear they were on a mission, but Shepard could not muster the energy to care what it might be.

Watching the rest of the bunker's inhabitants, she suspected what that mission might be though. She realized Nyreen might be planning to bring whatever forces she had amassed into the fold of this little operation. It was the best tactical idea she could entertain in those long hours.

“The more, the merrier...” Shepard muttered under her breath. She knew they could use whatever forces they could get and Nyreen had military training.

Sitting on a set of steps near the base of a shuttle, Shepard leaned against a bulkhead in exhaustion as she watched several wounded asari and batarians being moved deeper into the bunker. She must have sat there for hours just watching the activity. Maybe she even dozed off a couple of times. The clang of metal on metal snapped her disoriented attention back to reality with a jolt. It was the sound the door near the rear of the bunker made.

Three days and she had already become familiar with most of the bunker's sounds. She happened to glance down the corridor where Nyreen and her little band had gone hours ago, her mind barely registering what she saw. The mental fog of exhaustion turning everything surreal around her.

Glancing away, she paused, breath freezing in her lungs. Barely a heartbeat later and her eyes snapped back to that corridor in dumbfounded shock. An asari, a vorcha and three turians had left earlier, Nyreen had been one of them. An asari, a vorcha and _four_ turians were coming back. One with a distinctive swaggering gate even with the addition of a limp.

The blue flicker of the visor lens over his left eye broke through the fog in her brain, sending her heart into a painful jolt against her ribs. Shepard was on her feet in an instant, unsure if she was really seeing what she thought was limping toward her. Her breath caught as the group came into the bunker's artificial light, recognition dawning in her exhausted mind. She took off like a shot toward them before they even cleared the corridor's last bulkhead. His name on the gasp of breath that left her as she ran.

Garrus caught her with a grunt and staggered backward a couple of steps when she launched herself into his arms. Those arms wrapped around her tightly, as if he meant never to let her go again. He was dirty, covered in rust, dirt and sour turian sweat. To her, he smelled absolutely wonderful and felt even better. She tried, and failed, to control the ragged breath that tore its way past her lips. He held her tighter for it, if that was possible, and buried his face into the flesh beneath her ear. It was the only part of her neck he could reach that was not covered in armor. Scent, she knew that was why he did it. Turians had a keen sense of smell. His nose must have been clogged with the scent of battle and debris for days. He clearly needed her scent as much as the feel of her in his arms.

After a moment, his hands came up to cup her jaw and he pressed his plated brow firmly against her smooth forehead with a stuttering breath. That breath smelled of cinnamon, sage and copper. At least that was how her brain translated the scent of thulium. On the periodic table, she thought they must be close relatives to smell so similar. In that moment, she did not care. She breathed him in, sharing breath with him in a way only lovers could understand.

“Hmm...” his hum turned to an elongated purr of deep contentment before he murmured, “Miss me?”

Shepard's breath caught on a relieved half-laugh as she twined her arms through his to cup his mandibles. Her voice refused to rise above a whisper. “I thought you were dead.”

“I'm hard to kill, you should know that.” he said softly, repeating what had become a standing joke and a reassuring snark on his part.

She breathed out another half-laugh and gripped the rear flanges of his mandibles, hauling him downward for a deep kiss. “Cocky turian...”

“You love it...” he growled faintly against her mouth, before feathering the tip of his tongue across her upper lip.

“I do...” she said fiercely.

“I take it you know him.” Nyreen said with a smug look pinning her mandibles high on her face.

“You could say that.” Shepard said, raising her left hand up and exposing her wrist for the female to see.

Nyreen frowned at the blue inked turian script for only a moment before her expression seemed to soften. Her mandibles flared ever so slightly in a faint smile that seemed to crinkle the outer corners of her eyes. She nodded understanding then as her mandibles returned to a relaxed position.

 _Older_ , Shepard thought, _she's older than Garrus by five or ten years at least. How old was she when she left the turian military... and why?_ Those were questions she knew she might not get answers to, but it felt good to realize she actually wanted to ask them.

“I didn't realize relations between our peoples had grown so... _close_. Are you _legally_ bonded? Have our two governments _finally_ come that far?” Nyreen asked quietly even as she glanced at the two turian men who walked past her. Clearly they had done most of the digging to free Garrus by the look of all the dirt coating them.

“We're legally bonded... as far as I know.” Garrus answered, taking his eyes off Shepard grudgingly to glance at Nyreen as he slid the data storage tag from beneath the rim of his cowl.

“Then I wish you both luck in your journey together... _Archangel_.” Nyreen studied the overlapping logos embossed on it for a moment before nodding to Garrus. She dropped his code name on a quiet breath filled with deep respect. Stepping toward Shepard, her eyes locked on the human woman briefly. “I'd heard you were a trailblazer, Commander. I never dreamed that might include a deep affection for one of my own people.”

“You _truly_ are hard to kill, aren't you...?” Aria asked from the roof of a nearby shuttle she must have been inspecting. Her hands were clasped behind her. Her eyes flicked from Nyreen's retreating form back to them.

“It'll take more than Cerberus or Reapers to take _me_ down.” Garrus grumbled as he reluctantly released his hold on Shepard to gaze up at the asari.

“Good.” was all the asari said before disappearing over the other side of the shuttle.


	38. Only An Hour Ago...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus tries to move past his ordeal to help develop a plan to take back Omega.

Garrus knew just how lucky he had been when that bridge came down. He had honestly thought that was the end when Shepard's fingers grazed his arm. Dropping, he had curled into a tight ball and prayed the girders missed him just as it hit the deck. Never in his wildest nightmares had he thought the section of bridge would collapse around him, pin him in a tiny pocket and leave him breathing.

For three days and two nights, he had remained caged in a curled position, his right leg partially pinned under debris. The first few minutes had been some of the worst of his life. He had heard Shepard's raging grief, her fury and heartbreak as she had torn through those mechs. Her muffled whisper had come through the debris around him as well. Curled so tightly, he had been unable to take a deep enough breath to call out to her. She might not have heard him even if he had. His hearing receptor was far superior to organic hearing.

When Aria finally managed to draw her away, the loading bay had gone completely silent. That was probably the worst moment of his life, right there. The realization that they could not dig him out, that they were being forced to leave him behind. It had nearly broken him. He had keened shamelessly in grief over the loss of what might have been. Curled as he was, those keening breaths were little more than whimpers. He never wanted to go through that kind of heartbreak again. The realization that he was going to die first, he was going to leave Shepard to deal with the Reapers alone. It was so much worse than he could ever have imagined.

Then, when he was sure he was going to die in that heap of twisted metal and stone, he had done the one thing he rarely ever did; he honestly prayed. He opened his mind to the possibility that there was something greater than himself out there. Something that was not the Reapers. He had only accepted that possibility a few times in his life. The suicide mission through the relay had been one of them.

A couple of times the day before, he had thought he heard someone messing around the small mountain over him. Faint noises, voices, the scent of ozone, but then it ceased. All was silent once more and he could do nothing more than listen to the sound of his own breathing, his own heartbeat. He tried to shift, to move even a fraction and yelped when the debris pinning his right leg added more pressure to his ankle with a rumble.

As he lay there in that little pocket of twisted metal, he began to hear the sounds of digging once more on his third full day. There was the ozone smell of biotics use again. The distinctive grumbles of turians as they lifted heavy debris.

Only an hour ago, they broke through to him. He had coughed at the sudden swirl of air and dust.

Garrus did not question them or their reasoning for digging him out. He simply went with it. One did not look a gift baring kantog in the mouth. When Cerberus showed up gunning for them all, he knew he was in good hands. This group fought back. One of them, the turian female, handed him the widow she had clearly retrieved from the twisted debris. He took it gratefully, checked it over and sniped several troopers coming down from the upper level toward them.

Running with a limp, he had followed them into the maintenance tunnel. They led him through several twists and turns that finally let out into a corridor. At the end of that corridor it opened out into a large bunker. His eyes were locked to one thing in that place, however. It was a sight he was sure he would never see again when that bridge nearly crushed him; Shepard. She looked miserable. He would have run to her, but his ankle and knee refused to cooperate. Pinned as he had been, the pressure on his ankle had torqued his knee pretty badly.

The moment she saw him and the recognition dawned on her face, he knew even a Reaper could not have stood between them. She ran to him at full tilt the moment he came into the bunker's artificial light. Shepard hit him like a charging kantog and he caught her, embraced her tightly before her momentum had even ceased. He was honestly surprised that all it did was stagger him a couple of steps and knock the wind out of him.

Sparks flew from the collision of their armor, but he paid them no mind. He fought to keep the keening tones out of his sub-harmonics when he finally spoke. Deep down, he knew she could hear those tones even if she could not decipher them. He did not want her to realize just how hopeless he had really been in those last hours he lay facing a slow death.

Now he could not bring himself to release his grip on her hand. Soon, he knew he would have to soon, but not now. _To hell with anyone who objects. My place is at her side_. He meant to find a shower and drag her into it with him. To his way of thinking, she was likely to push him into said shower and scrub him herself from the way he knew he must smell to her. He could barely stand the smell himself. It was fortunate that his armor had a built-in reservoir to handle liquid waste, at least. Even it could hold only so much, however.

As they moved through the bunker, the inhabitants nodded or spoke to Shepard respectfully. Aria's forces were treating the commander with something closer to reverence than respect. _What did you do while I was incapacitated? What didn't I see?_ He knew he needed the answers, but he was unwilling to ask the questions just now.

They passed a group of batarian soldiers, their commander was giving them the rundown of what he expected of them. Things were bad and getting worse from the sounds of it. That shower might have to wait, he realized. Ammo was running short and fresh troops were even shorter. There were wounded everywhere. They ranged from the nearly dead to the walking wounded. He suspected they had been holding this position too long already.

“We need to move... get to the heart of this mission... Aria's troops can't hold out much longer.” Garrus said quietly as they passed the batarians.

Shepard nodded and glanced up at him. “I meant to get them moving tonight. Strike once Cerberus refocuses their attacks on the blast doors. They've developed a repeating pattern.”

“Sounds good. We slip out the back. Take the general by surprise.” he said thoughtfully.

“That's the plan.” Shepard nodded with that crooked grin he had come to love so very much.


	39. Planning the Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Garrus begin working up a plan of attack with Aria.

“Ahz, how are we looking?” Aria asked the salarian near her at the command console.

“All systems operational. Full Omega schematics coming online now.” the salarian answered anxiously.

“Let's take a look.” Aria nodded and stepped away, heading back toward the QEC/Tactical Display in the center of the dais. Omega's schematics resolved themselves from the blue particles of the QEC as she approached. “I see. Shepard, those force fields we saw? The general has them set up everywhere.”

“Looks like he's controlling access across entire station.” Garrus speculated from Shepard's right shoulder.

“Looks that way.” Shepard nodded, noting the deepening frown on the asari's face as the woman leaned in.

“What are these dark areas?” Aria grumbled as she pointed to a couple of the larger ones.

Ahz had left his terminal and stepped up between her and Aria. “Many sections of Omega are powered down.”

“Siphoned to run the force fields?” Garrus asked thoughtfully.

“That's my bet.” the salarian answered.

“Find the source. Priority one.” Aria growled with a frown as she gave the order.

Shepard nodded and looked between them. “Well need a full tactical assessment of all Cerberus positions with that.”

Ahz gave her a clipped nod before turning back toward his console. “I'll get on it.”

“We have work to do, Shepard. Our losses were significant. We _can't field_ an army large enough to face down Cerberus.” there was more stress in Aria's voice than she had ever heard before.

Shepard watched the asari for a moment as one of her commandos handed her a data pad. The look on her face said it all; she honestly was concerned with the direction their mission was going.

“We need allies.” Garrus interjected.

“Story of my life.” Shepard grumbled with a huff as she glanced at him.

“We've confirmed there is a merc gang that's still active. The Talons are resisting the occupation.” Aria said as she brought up a surveillance feed on the monitor behind her. “Not my _first_ choice, but they're all we've got.”

Shepard glared at the monitor before glancing back at the asari. She was ready to be done with this mission and get the hell off Omega. “We'll make them join... One way, or another.”

“Perfectly put.” Aria smiled at her. The commander was not entirely sure she cared for the way the woman smiled at her.

“Are all their members turian?” Garrus asked as he tapped a talon on the monitor.

“Exclusively.” Aria answered.

“That could prove...” Garrus began and was cut off by Bray.

“Sorry to interrupt...”

“What is it?” Aria all but snapped at her second.

Bray was prancing uncomfortably and glancing to the side, down at some some speck on the floor. “I turned away for a second to offload supplies. When I looked back...”

“You lost her.” it was a snarled statement.

“Well... I...” Bray rubbed his head above his two right eyes.

“We're locked down. She's got to be here somewhere.” the words were out of Shepard's mouth before she thought.

“Shepard, she could be anywhere.” Garrus murmured near her ear just loud enough.

“This bunker has secret access points to other parts of the station. Unfortunately, Nyreen knows them.” Aria was pacing and flinging her hands around in obvious irritation. She stopped and hung her head over the railing facing the tactical display. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke again. “Dammit, Bray. If I wasn't already short on manpower... We have to focus on getting the Talons onboard.”

Garrus cleared his throat faintly and the asari glared at him.

“The general is using Afterlife as his commander center and that just pisses me off.” Aria snapped and stepped away at a clipped pace. She glanced back just once and threw the last over her shoulder. “I'll meet you at the armory exit. Don't keep me waiting... ”

“Once we recruit the Talons, how do we reach the general?” Shepard muttered half under her breath as the asari stormed off.

“There are a dozen different maintenance shafts leading into Afterlife.” Garrus stated as he stepped in closer to the tactical display. He pointed out a couple of them with a gloved talon. One lit up in blue as he glanced over his shoulder at her. “My team used this one regularly to slip in and out with... uh... requisitioned... contraband.”

“Uh-huh... so they snuck in, grabbed some booze and snuck back out? Nice one, Garrus.” Shepard let out a faint laugh at that.

“Well... I never said life as a vigilante was... completely honest.” his mandibles flared at that.

“So how do we gain access to this shaft?” Shepard asked, crossing her arms and tapping her chin with a knuckle.

“I'm still working on that. Looks like those force fields are blocking most of the access points to the bar.” he grumbled as he swiped the schematic and spun it around to take a closer look at their current position. He pointed at another maintenance shaft not far from the loading dock where Bray must have been. “Nyreen may have slipped out here.”

“Know anything about the Talons?” Shepard asked as she watched him manipulate the map a few more times.

“More than most. Had a few run-ins with some of their worst members. Drug-runners mostly, a few cutthroats... put a couple of them in the morgue.” he blinked as he realized he was giving away details he was clearly trying to set aside. “They're highly organized, work in teams... it sets them apart. Maybe a little more civilized than the Blood Pack, but...”

“But they're still just another gang.” Shepard finished the statement. She knew gangs. The streets back on Earth had been teaming with them. If push came to shove, she would whip out the gang mentality on them, after all, it was a part of her past.

“Right... appeal to their lust and greed.” Garrus nodded as pulled his attention away from the schematics.

“Nyreen's the wildcard here.” Shepard sighed.

“I doubt that.” he commented.

“How so? Get anything out of her on your way back to the bunker?” the commander asked softly.

“She's a biotic.” he said quietly.

“Cabal? Do you know her?” that piqued her interest.

“No. Heard a little something about her. She ran when her biotics manifested. Never received the proper training.” he shook his head.

“Then I'd be surprised if she could produce more than a burp of biotic power without a nosebleed.” Shepard sighed. “Come on, time's wasting.”

“Hmm... finish the mission, get the hell off Omega... for good.” Garrus gumbled.

“Agreed.” she nodded and turned in the direction the asari had gone.


	40. Variables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria is calculating the variables of war.

“Seems like there's more to Nyreen than meets the eye.” Shepard said coming up behind her.

Aria turned with a glaring look for both the human and the turian at her side. _Archangel... no, he's calling himself_ _ **Garrus**_ _now_ , she corrected herself. After Nyreen, she had avoided anything more than a passing fling. The turian clearly bonded to Shepard had been an intriguing creature while he was running under that code name. She had often wondered if he would be just as... _entertaining_ in bed. _Funny how things often play out. I should have done something about that curiosity before Shepard swooped in to save the day. A pity. The human doesn't seem the type to share._

“You mean her disappearing act? Honestly, I'm not concerned.” Aria finally answered Shepard's questioning remark. “If it was anyone else, I'd want blood, but Nyreen's a variable I can control. She believes in a code of ethics. She _oozes_ virtue.”

“You two must have made an interesting pair.” there was almost a laugh in Shepard's words.

“Opposites attract, right? Our connection was powerful, but doomed.” Aria glanced pointedly at Garrus before returning her gaze to Shepard. She thought she saw the same kind of connection between the two of them. Some part of her hoped they could meet somewhere in the middle, avoid the conflicts she and Nyreen had faced. “Nyreen demonstrated _zero_ flexibility. She couldn't put up with the... _challenges_ of my life.”

“Not the rebel she claims to be?” Garrus asked with a faint flaring of his mandibles.

“No...” Aria eyed him, allowing the hungry curiosity to bleed through. Her voice took on a silken quality for a moment. “Maybe I should have taken a _real_ rebel to my bed. There was a vigilante here little more than a year ago. Real rough and tumble kind of guy...”

The turian's mandibles snapped tight to his jaw with an audible click as his eyes widened. He clearly had not missed the hint. Shepard's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was all the answer she needed. Her focus returned solely to the human then. “That's all the information you're getting out of me on either of those subjects, Shepard.”

“Tell me more about Petrovsky.” Shepard stated with a chilly edge to her voice.

“He presumes to sit on my throne. That's _all_ that matters.” Aria grumbled bitterly. She had already given the commander a good many of the details she had about the general.

“I get that you hate him, Aria, but I need to know who we're up against.” Shepard growled, eyes flashing angrily.

True though the statement was, Aria realized she might have crossed a line with her implications of lust toward the commander's bondmate. _Pissed off is good... but not at me. I still need her to help retake this station. She could walk if I push her too hard_.

“Alright. I'll admit he's not like other Cerberus operatives I've encountered. He's smart, thinks outside the box, very hard to predict.” Aria finally broke her silence on the matter grudgingly. She did not like to admit weakness and Oleg Petrovsky represented just that for her. “He's like his boss. No matter who suffers, and no matter the cost, he stops at nothing. To defeat him we have to be prepared to do the same.”

Shepard nodded, a satisfied look on her face as she shifted from foot to foot. The turian beside her was listening intently, his eyes locked on her hard enough to make her squirm just a fraction. She had forgotten just how intense that icy gaze could be. No wonder Shepard had chosen him as her bondmate, his personality and predatory interest complimented hers perfectly.

“Is the cross-examination over, because time is of the essence.” Aria grumbled as her discomfort level increased and she turned away.

“You're off the hook for now.” Shepard said coldly.

“Good.” Aria crossed her arms. “We should get this started.”

Shepard nodded and stepped away, heading for the armory exit. The turian lingered for half a heartbeat. She took the opportunity to have a word with him. “You should sit this one out, Archangel.”

Those icy raptor eyes snapped back to her face with a hard glare. “Not a chance in hell.”

“You could be recognized, compromised... That might jeopardize the entire mission.” Aria grumbled persuasively.

“And it might boost the mission, give the Talons a reason to join up and fight.” he countered.

Aria nodded. She could not fault that logic. “There is that, but Omega will no longer be a safe haven... even for Garrus Vakarian... if Archangel reappears on the station.”

“I'm fine with that.” he started to turn toward the direction Shepard had gone and glanced back over the rim of his cowl at her. “I'm not planning to come back to Omega again once this mission is finished... _ever_.”

“Everyone comes back... sooner or later. Just keep that in mind before you follower her into hell.” Aria commented.

“I've been following her through hell for three years, Aria. That's not about to change now.” with that, he limped away.

Aria frowned after him. The limp was new. She knew he had been pinned under that section of bridge for three days. It had never occurred to her that he might be injured when he came swaggering into the bunker. She knew turian anatomy and for him to have a limp like that, there had to be a bone fracture in the structure of that leg.

Frowning, she watched how he favored the leg as he limped off. It was a spur fracture beyond a doubt. She grumbled under her breath before stomping off toward her weapon's locker in irritation. “You better be able to keep up, _Archangel_. If not, I'll leave your turian ass behind with more than just a fractured leg. _Nothing_ is going to come between me and my rightful throne.”


	41. Concerns and Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus realizes Shepard has noticed his limp. Aria has already implied he might well cost them the mission if he's not fit enough to continue.

“You gonna be alright?” Shepard asked quietly as he drew up beside her near the weapon's locker.

His keen eyes caught the concerned frown on her face and he nodded before hefting the widow up to check it over. He had not been overly thrilled at the prospects of allowing it out of his sight when he had entered the bunker. Nyreen had whisked it away before he could object, however. Now, looking it over, he was impressed with the level of care that had been taken in cleaning it up. Sighting down the scope to be sure the accuracy had not been knocked out of wack, he murmured in a smooth voice. “I'm fine, Shepard. Just a little banged up.”

“That's what worries me. 'A little banged up' in turian terms...” she shook her head and locked eyes with him as he lowered the rifle. “Garrus... you're _sure_ you're ok?”

Stepping close and looking down at her, allowing his head to bob ever so slightly and his shoulder to drop a fraction with the transfer of weight, he flared his mandibles faintly. “You know I can't lie to save my plates...”

“Alright... but you can't blame me for asking. You were limping pretty good on your way over here.” Shepard nodded toward his right leg, clearly noting how he was still toeing the ground more than standing on that foot.

“Got caught under some of the debris that buried me. Just a sprain. It won't slow me down.” he knew some of the statement was a lie. Mixed with truth and determination, he found he was able to hide the tells that would give him away.

Shepard's eyes were locked to his before she gave him a once over as she adjusted her chest plate. Her tone was almost brittle as she spoke. “I have to be sure, Garrus. If you're physically compromised...”

“I could jeopardize the mission. Already heard that from Aria.” he grumbled and flicked the safety on the rifle harshly.

“Hey...” Shepard said as she reached up and cupped his mandibles in armored hands. One thumb rubbed tenderly over his scars. Her voice dropped low with her next statement. “That's _not_ the reason I'm concerned. This whole thing could sideways and I wouldn't give a _damn_ so long as we both got out... _alive_. There's no Shepard _without_ Vakarian, remember.”

“We're wasting time.” Aria grumbled as she passed them, heading toward the armory exit.

Garrus pressed her hand against his scarred mandible, nodding before turning his head and pressing his mouth plates against her palm. Even through the flex-mesh of her gloves he still caught her scent faintly. Some part of his mind was still attempting to reconcile reality after so long pinned beneath the rubble. The fracture could have brought on a fever dream. He knew he might still be pinned there waiting to die, but this felt too real. Her scent reassured him that it was.

After a moment, he released her hand, breaking contact and stepping toward the door. “The sooner we finish this, the better.”

“You'll be wanting this back.” Shepard said softly as she held out the pistol she had carried since they left the Citadel, the one he had personally etched his Archangel sigil into.

Mandibles flaring, he took the offered weapon and tucked it into the empty holster over his flank. He had been missing its weight since she took it to prevent him being detained before they left the Citadel. It had not occurred to him to ask for it back before he took the turian fighter through the relay.

“What's you're history with this gang?” Shepard asked Aria as they passed through the doors into a long corridor.

“Some mutually beneficial dealings with some occasional violence. The Talons weren't even a blip on our radar until the plague in 2185.” Aria glared directly at Garrus for a moment and continued. “You're little war against the other gangs left a vacuum.”

“Not my intention.” Shepard grumbled.

“No, you're intention was to _rescue_ him. You didn't start the war, _he_ did.” she indicated Garrus with a sharp jerk of her assault rifle.

“Shepard finished it.” he grumbled.

“So she did... for a time.” Aria glanced back ahead before darting toward a railing overlooking a vast section of the station. “The Talon's leader, Derius, took advantage of the situation and carved the Talon's a bigger piece of the local drug trade.”

Shepard followed the asari closely as the blue woman headed for a very tall ladder. “Are we enlisting them because they're good or because we need numbers?”

“They're cannon fodder. We're using them because they're the only game in town.” Aria glanced back as she started up the impossibly tall ladder.

Shepard stopped a few rungs up before he had even taken hold of the first rung. “You're gonna let _them_ know that?”

“Relax, Shepard. This is how it works on Omega. Just let me do the talking...” Aria was interrupted by her omni-tool going off.

“Commander! Cerberus forces are scrambling. Looks like an attack on the Talons.” Ahz's voice came through frantically.

“Dammit...” Aria sighed as she leaned back and clearly caught sight of the airborne fighters heading back the other way.

“Judging from comm chatter, their priority target is in the area. Could be the Talon's leader.” Ahz informed her.

“May have to fight our way through Cerberus to get to them.” Garrus grumbled as he hauled himself up that ladder.

“Then we move quick.” Shepard barked and followed the asari quickly up.

Garrus wondered if Shepard realized he had developed a nasty aversion to heights since the Collector Base. True, he had taken her up to one of the cross-members of the Presidium and all but proposed to her there, but that was solid, stable plating under his feet. This ladder... not so much. It creaked and wiggled in its mountings as the three of them moved up it quickly.

The asari disappeared over the top first and Shepard followed. He brought up the rear trying not to appear concerned. It struck him that he must have succeeded as neither woman gave him more than a quick backward glance. _Good thing turians don't sweat like humans_ , he thought as tiny beads tickled and itched between his plates.

“Cerberus activity confirmed in your area. I'll see if I can hack their comm system.” came Ahz's voice again as they entered a short corridor at the top of that ladder.

“That's odd...” Aria said quietly as she glanced over the stacks of crates scattered around the room they had entered. “Why would they leave crates of Red Sand just lying around like this?”

“Maybe they had something more important going on” Shepard suggested.

“Not Derius. Profit is the only thing that matters to him. Everything else can burn.” Aria stated harshly.

“The scorch marks here suggest otherwise.” Garrus said as he ran a talon over the soot stained corner of one crate on a level with his eyes.

Shepard glanced back at him with a nod. Aria did not bother to spare him a look as she kept moving. They were presented with another ladder, but not nearly as high as the last. He climbed it easily behind them. Looking down, that was his problem. If he just kept his eyes latched onto Shepard or even the farthest reaches of the ceiling, he was fine. A fear of heights was not something he had ever been concerned with. He meant to conquer this and be done with it as soon as possible.

“One of these air shafts will lead us right into Talon territory.” Aria stated as they passed another doorway.

Several lift rides and ladder climbs later, they made their way into a corridor. His leg was killing him, the spur felt as if it were about to shear off. More crates of Red Sand were stacked along this corridor, dozens of them. He glanced at Shepard with a worried frown pinning his mandibles high against his cheekbones. This stuff did awful things to her. It super-charged her biotics to a primal state, but that was the beneficial part. The part that worried him was the high, the trip it could send her on and the crash back to reality. He had seen it during one of their many runs not long after she had saved his hide here on Omega.

“Good news. I've hacked into Cerberus comms. Patching you in now.” Ahz came over the comm again.

“Engaging hostiles!”

“Get more backup over here!”

“We don't need the drugs, destroy them or leave them. The _Man_ doesn't care.”

The chatter stopped after a moment as they moved forward. This particular air-shaft was gloriously warm to Garrus. Little sparks drifted on the air lightly as they moved. Glancing at Shepard, he realized she must be burning up within her armor. There was a sheen of sweat coating her brow and her hair was stuck to her head. Those were the only outward signs of her discomfort as she stopped before a generator console.

“Power's offline.” she stated calmly.

“There should be a control switch for the generator nearby.” Ahz stated.

“Here...” Garrus murmured as he flipped a switch near him on the other side of the room.

As power returned to the console, Shepard explored the data on display across it. “Looks like they were using this to observe the detainment centers.”

“Over here, Shepard.” Aria said as she poked a large button on the railing at the end of the hall.

Garrus noted the clang as the hydraulics kicked in and lifted an access hatch. He eased his pistol out of the holster after slinging the widow over his back. Something was nagging at him that he might need a close range weapon for what was coming. Rarely did he ignore those feelings. When he did, he usually ended up regretting it.


	42. Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria attempts to distract Shepard's concern for her bondmate until a wounded member of the Talons recognizes Archangel.

Shepard took point and jogged through the blast door just as it cleared her head. Aria was hot on her heels with Garrus bringing up the rear. The asari overrode her concern for her bondmate by feeding her tidbits of information along the way.

“That tower is the Talon outpost we're heading for.” Aria pointed at one of about a dozen structures jutting out of the Omega's core.

Shepard locked eyes on the tower before watching the fighters zipping between the buildings. Weapons fire tinged the air with the scent of burning fuel and singed flesh. “Looks like the Talons are giving as good as they get.”

“They're turian, Shepard.” Aria sounded on the edge of a snort.

“We don't know when to quit. The concept isn't even part of the Hierarchy's vocabulary.” Garrus said quietly behind them. “No retreat, no surrender...”

“Victory at any cost...” Shepard murmured as she watched the asari step forward toward the ladder leading downward.

“Exactly.” he nodded as he stopped abreast of her.

“Commander, Cerberus comms indicate the high priority target is nearby. Hostile forces will be right on your path to the Talons outpost.” Ahz was addressing her directly she realized. He had been for a little while now.

“Understood.” she responded and took that ladder down to the platform below.

There were stairs leading further down and she took them cautiously. They lead to a loading platform before a door. Her eyes grazed over the crates of Red Sand with an extreme lack of interest. That was not something she wanted to get mixed up with again. Her former gang and all but force-fed her the stuff before Nana had pulled her off the streets. She had encountered it a couple of times since and it simply left her reeling.

Two sets of doors opened before her easily enough as she took the next set of stairs cautiously. It was too quite, too calm. It felt like a Cerberus trap. That was exactly what it turned into when she caught sight of the troopers on the next level. She darted forward and tucked herself tightly against a stack of crates.

“Search the area!” the Cerberus commander snapped at his team.

One of them must have seen Garrus. He lobbed a grenade at the turian. The tones told her it would blow before it ever hit the ground at his feet. Without a second thought, she reached out with her biotics and snatch the grenade out of the air. A heartbeat later, she slammed it back at its 'owner'. The man growled in shock just as it exploded in his face.

Shepard had thought the one incident on Benning had been a fluke, an odd stroke of luck that would never happen again. Now she realized her biotics were evolving into something far more than they had ever been. It almost scared the hell out of her to realize she was changing so dramatically. She needed this change, however. It might be the only thing that stood between the Reapers and the whole of civilization.

“Those aren't gang members!” snarled one of the troopers.

Shepard took the distractions as an opportunity to toss a shockwave out among them. It slammed several of them up against the walls, knocking them senseless. It also busted one of the Red Sand crates open near her. She closed her eyes and tried not to breathe as the red dust exploded around her.

Garrus growled something unintelligible off to her right before she heard his pistol going off. A moment later a pair of turian hands pulled her out of cloying dust that was already hyper-charging the biotic energy raging through her. Her eyes snapped open and locked on the blue eyed female with olive clan markings.

“Use it, Commander, before it burns through your blood.” Lilfrey snapped at her.

Shepard nodded and turned her attention back toward the remaining troopers in the room. With a yell, she blasted forward and practically blitzed them into so much dust with the force of her attack. It felt incredible to release that much energy at once. The downside, she knew, would be the crash later.

Moving into another room, she heard Garrus half-limp, half-run her way. He was on the door before she had even realized it was locked. It opened under his skilled hands in seconds. The moment he stepped aside, she realized he noticed Lilfrey watching her flank. His eyes narrowed a fraction, but he said nothing.

The moment the door opened completely, Shepard blew a hole through one operative's head with her pistol without a second glance. There were more, many more in the next room that began pouring out at the sound. She threw out biotic blast after biotic blast, reveling in the power surging through her veins. All the while, her mind remained clear and somewhat detached. This crash was going to be horrid when it hit. She was sure she must have absorbed more than half that crate of sand.

“We can't keep this up much longer!” came the shout of a dual-toned voice from the other room.

“I know! Get those doors open!” another dual-toned toned voice.

Turians. Those must be Talon members, she realized. It dawned on her that they were fighting for their lives. This was the opportunity they need to win them over. If her group came in, guns and biotics blazing to save their hides, they might well feel obligated to help liberate the station from Cerberus.

“We've got you cornered, skull-face! No way out this time!” a human voice growled.

“So you say, _human_!” the first dual-toned voice she had heard said the racial name like a slur. “and yet here we are, still shooting back at you!”

Shepard barely caught a glimpse of Garrus half jogging toward a console and beginning to hack it. Her blood was burning, sight blazing with vivid colors and wild streaks now. Shaking her head, she tried to dispel the the sensations that were coursing through her. This was not what she needed just now. She needed a clear head, but that was not what she was going to have when those blast doors finally opened.

“The doors are open! Retreat! Retreat!” that first dual-toned voice shouted the second her bondmate's hands left that console even as a loud alarm blared through the room.

“Dammit! They're escaping toward the warehouse! Get some shuttles out there... now!” the human roared in anger.

Seconds later, if felt like hours, an entire platoon of Cerberus stormed into the offices they occupied. Without a second thought, she began blasting them with everything she had. Her team took the stragglers. Lilfrey joined in with her own biotic blasts and peppered them with shotgun rounds.

It did not take long to clear the room with all the chaos dropping the enemy like flies. Shepard made one last move, blasting forward with a yell and slamming her fist into the floor before the feet of a Phantom. The woman dropped in a biotic backwash, dead before she hit the floor.

Wiping her bleeding nose on the back of her hand, Shepard stepped into the next room only to find a turian sitting on the floor, one hand bracing him while the other pressed into his bleeding side. He looked up at her in a mixture of shock and defiance. His eyes snapped over Garrus and Lilfrey on either side of her as she knelt and he seemed to relax a fraction.

“This'll help.” Shepard said as she hit him with a dose of medi-gel.

He took a shuddering breath and nodded as the bleeding immediately began to slow between his fingers. After another breath he found his voice. “You here to help? Thought humans only looked out for each other.”

“They're not all like that.” Lilfrey said soothingly. “Commander Shepard least of all.”

“Shepard?” he asked, glancing back at her. “Heard a rumor you bonded with one of my kind...”

“The rumor's true.” Garrus spoke up even as he hacked the console near the male.

The Talons member glanced up at him and narrowed his eyes. A moment later he gasped and his eyes widened in shocked recognition, taking on an almost reverent look. “ _Archangel!_ But... you're _dead_... Oh spirits, you're the commander's bondmate, aren't you...”

“I am.” he answered simply before glancing back at Shepard. “We're done here. They're headed for the western warehouses. We need to move fast if we're going keep them alive.”

“I'll look after him.” Lilfrey said as Shepard began moving toward the doors Cerberus had come through.


	43. Stand-Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilfrey rushes through the maintenance tunnels in an effort to catch up to Shepard's team.

“Delineetrus...” the turian on the floor said directly to Lilfrey. “Just call me Del. I'll be fine. The bleeding's stopped. Go with them. Help our turian brothers and sisters.”

Lilfrey blinked at him and glanced down at his wound. He was right, the seeping of cobalt blue between his fingers had ceased. Some of the color was returning to the hide around his neck. That was a good sign, she knew. With a nod, she stood and clamped a hand over his shoulder in reassurance.

“I will send someone back for you as soon as I can.” Lilfrey said to him quietly.

Delineetrus nodded as he leaned back against the base of the console behind him. She knew he might well pass out long before anyone found him. That might be best. Cerberus would not look twice at him if he was lying prone on the floor. They would believe him already dead.

Glancing back down at Del, she nodded once more before stepping away from him. Shepard and the rest of the team were ahead of her by mere moments only. She heard the lift engage and jogged the last few steps around the corner only to catch a glimpse of Aria's smug face as it decended.

“ _Kinac!_ ” Lilfrey growled viciously as the safety shutter closed over the shaft. Turning back toward the wounded male in the other room, she thought to ask him if there was another way down.

Del glanced up at her groggily as she entered and squatted down before him. “Is there another way down to the western warehouses? Another lift, a ladder... anything?”

“Maintenance shaft...” he answered weakly and pointed toward an alcove behind her, tucked into the far corner to her right. “It'll be a long climb... and a longer run...”

Lilfrey nodded and drew her hood up. She was no stranger to this sort of thing. It was the timing that worried her. Something about the look on the asari's face spurred alarm. She doubted the blue woman would do anything to Shepard. After all, she needed the commander to help her take back the station. The commander's mate was another question. He was already wounded, compromised in a way. She might see that as a liability and... take matters into her own hands.

Pulling the cover off, Lilfrey gazed down that long, narrow shaft with a sigh. She was not sure how far down it went. It could easily traverse the entire length of the station. There was no choice, she would have to slide down as fast as she could in order to catch up to the others.

“Five floors down... open the access and take it fifteen hundred yards. You'll come out... in a docking bay... just outside the warehouses you want.” Del's voice was barely more than a whisper as she realized he was on the verge of passing out.

“I _will_ send help.” she said softly before swinging her legs over the rim of the shaft.

“Just go. I'll be fine.” he nodded, eyes already closed.

Lilfrey gripped the sides of the ladder, braced her ankles against it and began to slide downward. She counted the floors and slowed her decent as she neared the fifth level Del had mentioned. Planting her feet on the rung level with the floor she needed, she went to work on the access controls beside the access port.

Several encryption codes failed before she hit the port with her fist in frustration. Anxiety was creeping into her alarm as she worked. Garrus, no matter how reckless he may be, was still a praetor. The Hierarchy needed him alive in case something happened to Victus and the other two remaining praetors. Much as he might not care to hear it, he could still end up Primarch of Palaven. He was playing a dangerous hand of cards by following Aria into the heart of her domain.

Lilfrey finally resorted to punching one of her omni-blades into the access panel out of frustration. It sparked and shorted out, releasing the door on the maintenance port. The second it opened, she all but threw herself inside. It was big enough to stand in at a slight stoop. That did not bother her. What concerned her was the total lack of light.

It would be a long run in the dark. Fifteen hundred yards amounted to just a little over ten of Omega's city blocks. Opening her omni-tool, she realized she would need to run with just the minuscule light it could produce. That was not much, to say the least, but run she did and pray. She prayed there were no obstacles in her path, but more than that. Lilfrey prayed she made it to her destination in time. The longer she was delayed, the more convinced she was that something truly awful was about to happen.

The maintenance tunnel must have traversed all the way around the widest ring of the station. That was good to know, if she ever needed to come back to Omega secretly. Lilfrey slowed her pace as her omni-tool began pinging the distance. There had to be another access hatch somewhere close by. Kneeling down, she shown the light of her tool across the floor, walls and ceiling. Somehow it did not surprise her to see the panel above. This was likely to open up on the 'street'.

The port opened without the struggle the first had given her. It did not require an encrypted code. As a matter of fact, it did not seem to require a code of any kind. It simply opened at the touch of the panel.

Hopping up, she hooked her elbows over the rim and looked around. Del had told her the truth, this access opened up on the docking bay just outside the warehouses. Pulling herself up and out, she allowed the port to drop back into place before running across to the open bay doors.

Realistically, she knew the team could be anywhere inside. The sound of gunshots drew her attention sharply though. _Just follow the path of destruction. That's Shepard's trademark, after all_. The sound was coming from her right, deep inside the warehouse. There were a few Cerberus operatives milling around the interior, but she avoided them easily. Their attention was on the sounds of battle, not their direct surroundings.

Lilfrey slipped by them easily enough and made a run for those sounds. Every second seemingly thundered by in slow motion. Her mind played every possibility, almost none of them good. There was even the possibility that Aria would kill them both now that she had come this far. Some part of her doubted the asari would sink that low, not when she still had yet to reclaim her station. It was simply one possibility.

Slipping into the hallway, the turian froze at the sight of the stand-off just a few yards away. The commander was nowhere to be seen, but the sounds of biotics firing off beyond told her the woman was not far away. Too far to hear the low voiced conflict taking place behind her, however.

“I told you to sit this one out, _Archangel_.” Aria breathed venomously as she suddenly blocked his path and put her pistol in his face.

“You _can't_ be serious.” Garrus growled.

“You took a hit from one of them.” Aria nodded behind her at the dead operatives with a silken purr. “I tried to save your life, but it was already too late. Shepard will be distraught, but she will _never_ know the truth. She'll finish what she started... without _you_ to hold her back. And when it's finished... I'll claim _her_ as well.”

Lilfrey could not risk lining up a shot and possibly hitting the praetor. She was good with a sniper rifle, but she was no Garrus Vakarian. He was a top ranked sniper with the highest accuracy and head-shot count the turian military had produced in a generation, after all. She knew _he_ could have made that shot, but she would not risk it. Instead, she chose to approach the situation in the only way she could. Clamping her mandibles to her jaw, she issued a piercing whistle during a brief lull between the commander's biotic blasts. The human was sure to hear it. Anyone left alive out there in the second portion of the warehouse would hear it.

Aria's head snapped in the direction of the sound and Garrus lunged for the gun in her hand. It was hard to be sure if the shot was fired before or after he pushed the weapon above their heads. Sound carried oddly in the corridor between warehouse stock rooms. The pair were staggering and stumbling around wildly as they wrestled for control of the gun. No way to know if one of them had been hit until it was over.

A second shot rang out when Shepard stepped back into the corridor with them, her gun held high to avoid hitting the struggling pair. The instant they broke apart, her gun was trained on the asari's head. Her gloved hand creaked against the fiber of the weapon.

“I will take your _fucking_ squid-head clean off your scaly shoulders and ram it up your _azure_ if you don't put that gun down... _now_.” Shepard growled coldly, her body completely enveloped in raging biotic energy from the lingering Red Sand exposure.

“He's slowing us down, endangering the mission. You have to see that, Shepard.” Aria complained darkly.

“All I see is a gun pointed at _my bondmate's face!_ I won't ask twice.” any krogan would have been proud of the growl that issued from Shepard in that moment.


	44. Collateral Damage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus isn't sure how long he keep going without Shepard noticing.

“Fine. He lives, but we leave him behind. I'll have Bray come pick him up once the area has been swept clean of Cerberus.” Aria snapped, a note of her former nonchalance returning as she holstered her gun.

“That's not your call.” Shepard's voice was menacingly cold as she circled around the asari toward him.

“Call for backup!” came the snarled shout of another Cerberus commander just outside the corridor they were in.

“We don't have time for this...” Garrus growled and physically pushed Aria's now loosely held gun into her chest, shoving her out of his way as he darted for cover on one side of the door frame. He meant to stay the course no matter how much his side hurt. His lower rib plates felt like he had been kicked by a kantog.

Grunting faintly with the motion, he swapped his widow for the assault rifle slung over his back. When Shepard glanced his way, eyes narrowed in concern, he simply nodded. He made a mental note to twist as little as possible within her hearing range. Becoming a cause for concern during this mission might well result in distraction. That was the last thing he wanted. Distraction could get her killed.

Peeking around the corner, he fired a rapid succession of rounds before glancing her way with a nod. Shepard took his queue and bolted for the cover of a stack of crates a few feet away. He glared death at Aria as the asari ran for the cover of a stack of crates on the other side. Still, he covered her. They still needed to retake Omega from Cerberus, at any cost. She was their best chance at taking the enemy by surprise with her knowledge of the station.

Shepard threw out a singularity and a shockwave back to back before moving forward to finish the troopers caught up in the swirl. Garrus followed her, taking her place behind the crates she had just left. He pressed an arm to his side wondering just how bad the wound was. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that Aria's wild shot had hit him.

Taking a moment between rifle rounds, he pressed a hand to his upper side, just below the bottom edge of his chest plate. A quiet sigh escaped him when he drew that hand away with traces of cobalt blood slicking his palm. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he began to wonder how many more hits like this he might take before the war was over. _Not sure I'm going to make out the other side like this. You can't leave her like this! She needs you now more than ever! Pull it together, Vakarian!_

Eyes widening, he watched Shepard blast forward in that Vanguard move, further than before, and pulverize the last two remaining troopers on the platform. He realized he really needed to ask her about those new skills she had acquired. She was a trained Adept, he knew that. As a general rule of thumb, biotics did not randomly change up their ranking like that.

Moving to a better vantage point, he glared at Aria for a moment. The asari gave no clue that she even cared where he was. She took up her previous defensive stance and played at teamwork. He thought that pissed him off more than anything else. She could betray them again at any moment. It reminded him too much of Sidonis and his handiwork, not something he wanted an encore of.

Garrus ducked back behind cover the second he saw a shuttle making its final approach on the platform ahead. He pulled a couple of grenades from his hip pouch, being careful not to twist much. This was going to hurt, but there was no way around it. He charged them with a trickle of biotic energy, just enough to set them aglow and boost their explosive power. That had gotten easier over the last weeks. He thought his biotic power or control over said power might well be increasing.

“Head's up!” he barked once they were glowing. Bolting from cover, he threw them at the shuttle's opening hatch with a grunt. He rolled into cover once more just as they exploded. It was a risky move, but effective.

The shuttle veered toward the platform sharply, crashing into it with a thundering roar that shook the floor. Garrus flicked his unmarred mandible in satisfaction as he left his place of cover. Sensat had taught him a thing or two about explosives during their runs on the local mercs. Where to aim his throws was one of the best things he had learned from the salarian.

Shepard took the stairs on the left of the platform two at a time. She grumbled when she came to a locked door and glanced back at him. He knew she could hack the lock, but he was faster. Locks were one of his specialties outside of sniping.

The stairs were murder as his steps jolted the wound. He kept the pain off his face as much as possible as he made his way to her. A wave of dizziness forced him to place a hand on the door above the lock, leaning heavily on it for a moment as he hacked it. He caught the concern on his bondmate's face out of the corner of his eye and blinked a couple of times.

“You're not looking good, Garrus.” she said under her breath to him as Aria stopped at the top of the stairs.

Hmm... I'm... fine...” he grunted. Speaking, constricting the juncture of abdominal muscles and chest muscles that gave it force, caused a hitch of pain.

“You don't look fine.” she grumbled just as the door opened under his skilled hands.

“Just bruised. The leg is slowing me down.” he grumbled to cover the lie. They could not afford to stop now. The goal could not be that far off.

“Answer now!” a Cerberus trooper snapped as he shoved a human to his knees with a gun jabbed into the apex of his neck and shoulder. “Last chance, Talon! Answer or....”

What surprised Garrus the most was the fact that the man was wearing Talons armor. He had assumed the gang was still entirely turian. It seemed they had expanded their horizons. The operative noticed them, along with his buddies, and they hesitated in their treatment of the Talons members between them.

“What the...” their commander snapped as he motioned toward them, but retained his grip on his hostage. “Back off!”

“I don't _think_ so.” Shepard snapped, her pistol trained on his face plate.

Garrus heard the lite steps on the girder above. Glancing up, he made sure not to draw attention to the sound. He spotted movement up there the moment the situation got out of hand. The Cerberus commander shifted his aim, his finger twitched on the trigger, firing a round into his captive's knee. That faint sound from above became the sound of a foot slipping on a metal in the same instant.

Nyreen dropped from the girder above them and rushed forward to kick the Cerberus commander in the face. She knocked another operative to the floor with the side of her assault rifle and fired on a third in fluid movements that betrayed her extensive training. Two more troopers were rushing up on her from behind. Before Garrus or Shepard either one had a clean shot, she hit them with a biotic blast, proving an earlier suspicion.

“Take care of the wounded and scavenge what you can. I want us out of here ASAP.” Nyreen said to the former turian hostage the moment the room was clear. She passed him her assault rifle as she knelt down beside the human gripping his bleeding knee.

“You heard the boss. Move it!” snapped a turian male who had been held by the other Cerberus troopers as he opened his omni-tool.

“Looks like we found the Talons leader.” Shepard murmured to Aria.

“My, my.... Nyreen, aren't you full of surprises.” Aria breathed as she sauntered over to the female turian.

“Aria, the deception was necessary. I needed to figure out what your plans were.” Nyreen said crisply before standing once more. “The people on Omega _depend_ on us. I couldn't risk compromising our operation.”

“Not exactly standard procedures for a street gang.” Shepard commented.

“When Cerberus invaded, the Talons were a mess. I brought... _new direction_.” Nyreen stated as she stepped away from the Cerberus operative she had been searching. “The general's been hunting us ever since. Right now, he's attacking one of our outposts. That's where I need to be.”

“We're done here, boss.” one of the turian males stated as he came up beside her.

Nyreen nodded, then glanced toward Garrus before stepping up to him. He noticed then that she was quite a bit shorter than he had first thought. She took hold of his chin between thumb and forefinger, tuning his head this way and that. “You're pale, Archangel. Where's the wound? How much blood have you lost?”

“I'm fine...” he grumbled weakly as he gently gripped her wrist and removed her hand.

“Suit yourself.” she said and glanced back toward the others. “Aria, Commander Shepard, whatever you're here for, the answer's no. kindly escort yourselves _off_ Talon territory.”


	45. A Generous Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard speaks for the whole team when she offers to help Nyreen and her 'gang' get back to their outpost.

“We're here to help. We'll talk about it _after_ we reach your outpost.” Shepard said to her casually as she took a couple of steps toward Garrus.

Nyreen turned to face them then, cocking her head to the side slightly. It was hard to believe 'Omega' would bend far enough to request any kind of assistance. She never had during their time together. “That's a generous offer. Aria, does the commander also speak for you?”

Aria had taken a couple of steps forward, the top of her head just lining up with the lower tips of her mandibles. “Not the way I would have put it, but... that's the idea.”

Nyreen narrowed her eyes, glancing between the commander and Archangel, or whatever he was calling himself these days. He did not look good at all. His neck was pale, pupils slightly dilated and she could see tiny beads of sweat collecting around the rim of his undersuit collar. She did not catch what the commander said to him when she leaned in close, but it did not matter. His wound, whatever it was, needed treated and soon.

“Alright, then...” she paused and glanced pointedly at Archangel. “Come with me. His wound needs treated anyway.”

“You've improved your biotics since I last saw you.” Aria commented as Nyreen stepped away from them.

“Noticed the biotic grenades, did you?” Nyreen stated, her eyes darting toward a stack of shipping containers to her right when she heard a faint noise.

“You always did like blowing things up, given half the chance.” there was a purr in Aria's voice she had missed so very much, but she was not sure she could risk getting swept up in _that_ again.

“Mmhmm...” Nyreen nodded with a purr of her own as she continued to track the sound. After another step, she caught sight of something and stopped, pointing her assault rifle toward the containers. “Come out! Slowly or I'll put a hole clean through you.”

When the tan female turian with the olive colony markings stepped out, she made a tisking sound and lowered her weapon. “Lilfrey Quanoxin... what are you doing here? Thought the Blue Suns finally caught up with you, exacted their toll for skipping out on their 'training program'.”

“Not quite, Ny, but I still owe them... blood for blood.” she grumbled as she tucked her pistol into the holster on her hip.

“They got to Lantar, didn't they?” Nyreen asked sympathetically.

“He's dead, executed by order of former Primarch Fedorian.” Lilfrey stated as she closed the distance between them.

“I hadn't heard.” Nyreen eyed her suspiciously before it suddenly clicked for her. “ _Spirits_ , Lil... he didn't have _you_ do it, did he?”

“I was the only qualified agent on the Citadel at the time.” Lilfrey answered softly.

“ _Damn_... I knew I should have put a hole in his crest when I had him in my sights.” Archangel grumbled at the commander's side.

“Letting him go... was the right thing... for _you_. Shepard knew that. You know it's true now.” Lilfrey shook her head before locking eyes with him.

“Doesn't make a difference, does it?” he grumbled, holding a hand to his side. “He's still dead.”

“But it does, Garrus. You don't carry the stain of his blood on your hands or the guilt in your heart.” Lilfrey stated firmly.

“You know, I can't imagine he's getting any stronger while we're standing here gossiping.” Aria indicated Archangel with a sideways nod of her head.

“No, I suppose he's not. We should go, now, before he bleeds out.” Nyreen nodded and headed for the sealed door on the other side of the room.

There was no time to deal with Archangel, his wound or Lilfrey's untried efficiency she realized as the door opened. The loading bay was swarming with Cerberus. The warning was a sharp bark of her sub-harmonics as she ran for cover. “Rampart Mech inbound!”

“Crap...” she heard Archangel... _No,_ _ **Garrus**_ , she reminded herself. She heard him growl a couple of curses as he scrambled for cover as well.

Shepard wasted no time in throwing out a shockwave to destabilize the mech headed their way. Nyreen had to admit, the commander seemed... more... somehow in battle than she had a moment ago. She could almost see the appeal and attraction between the human woman and her turian bondmate. _Will it last after the war_? That was the real question. From the way he glanced at the woman before leveling his sniper rifle on the top of a crate, she thought it would. What lay between them was so much more than the heat of battle. Anyone with half an eye could see that.

Glancing at Aria before tossing out a biotic grenade, she wondered if she might rekindle what had once brought them together. _Do I even want to? Five years is a long time to be apart, but I can't imagine she's changed. Same old Aria with all her machinations and ambitions. Dammit... I miss her, miss what we had._

Nyreen shook herself from her reverie and fired on the mech that was closing in on her. This was not the time to worry about what might have been. She needed to worry about what was right in front of her. Her teeth clicked together as she shifted her jaw in irritation. If there was to be anything more between them later, she knew she needed to get through this battle now.

“Of course they left an Atlas behind to cover their retreat.” Nyreen snapped as the giant mech was dropped from a passing shuttle.

“Wonderful.” Garrus growled as he popped the heat sync free of his widow.

Glancing toward him, she realized his wound must not be too terrible. His hands were steady and he stood his ground firmly against the stack of crates he sheltered behind. It could have been a glancing wound for all she knew. A cracked plate could cause some nasty pain, after all. The paleness of his neck told her there was still some blood loss, but it was sluggish and non-lethal. He would live, she was certain of that much.

Lilfrey was off to her right. The female threw herself out into the fray before she could stop her. Nyreen's brow plates raised as the other danced to a dangerous tempo between the smaller mechs. She took them out with dual omni-blades even as the others fired on the Atlas. It was clear she had fought at their sides before. There was anticipation and teamwork flowing far too well to say otherwise.

The moment she thought the Atlas must fall, Shepard did the most unexpected thing. Even her bondmate seemed shocked as he instinctively reached out a hand to stop her. She blasted forward in a blinding flash and landed practically under the mech's feet. Nyreen's mandibles hung slack in surprise as the human grabbed one of its legs and hauled herself up toward the 'driver'.

Shepard clung to the mech's frame and leveled her pistol at the canopy. She fired rapidly, popping a heat sync and slamming another home by hitting a holster on her belt only to fire again. The canopy weakened and all but imploded under the assault. The 'driver' attempted to fend her off, releasing the controls and bringing up his own pistol up level with her chest. It did him no good. The commander's pistol went off in his face, delivering a devastating volley of rounds through the visor slit in his helmet. The mech teetered and fell as the woman threw herself clear of it.

“That's damned impressive, Commander Shepard.” Nyreen said, her voice thrumming in awe.

“We're not getting through here.” Aria snarled as she stopped before the main doorway. “Damn force field's are up all over the station.”

“Then we go around it.” Shepard said, looking toward Nyreen for an alternative route. “Know another way?”

“I do.” Nyreen purred as she headed for a crate of ammo clips. Rummaging through them, she held up a couple up to the commander. “Need this?”  
“Never enough ammo, but you work with what you've got.” Garrus grumbled as he limped up beside her and picked through the crate.

“I prefer to snatch whatever I can find.” she paused and glanced at his hands. Still steady, she noted. “Even if it means raids.”

“There's only so much we can carry.” Shepard interjected.

“True.” Nyreen nodded as she handed out rounds to Aria and Lilfrey as well.

After a few minutes, she lead them toward an elevator in the back. They heard Cerberus troops shouting orders back and forth when they entered. No one was able to hear them clearly. They made it barely two floors before the power was cut with a jolt. Shepard grunted when she staggered and Garrus steadied her with an arm locking her to his left side for a heartbeat as their flashlights snapped on.

“Stand back.” Nyreen hissed as she unslung the nastiest weapon in her arsenal from her back.

As the others moved to the sides of the elevator, she aimed at the controls. The weapon issued a clicking buzz as the tiny reactor powered up within it. She flared her mandibles in a smile for Aria and nodded before pulling the trigger. The weapon discharged a vicious blast that all but melted the control panel. The second it shorted out, she dropped the weapon, slinging it back into it's customary position and reached into the burned hole. Gasping and grunting at the heat, she grabbed and released the override a few times before she could stand tot touch it.

“Here.” Shepard said as the ladder dropped in the far corner.

The human went up quickly first, the others followed close on her heels. Nyreen had to admit, this was not her favorite idea, but at least she knew her way around even these dark shafts. “There will be a ladder leading down just around the bulk of the lift system. We'll climb down, circle around the elevator itself and climb down again.”

“How far?” Garrus asked, tinkering with his visor as they moved.

“Maybe three levels. Then we'll come to an emergency access.” Nyreen answered.


	46. The Catwalks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attack on the catwalks has near devastating results.

Moving along those dark corridors, Shepard noticed sparks flying from several power conduits. _At least the doors are still working_ , she reminded herself as she stepped through one leading off to the right. It led into another dark corridor. The other followed her in. she paused and glanced upward as the entire place rumbled and shook slightly around them. Her grip tightened on her pistol when she glanced back at the others. This was bad news, she could almost feel it. The wall before her claimed they were headed for the catwalk. That could prove tricky if the shaking continued.

“Any idea what's causing this?” Shepard asked quietly as she indicated the area around her.

“Sounds like heavy artillery.” Nyreen glanced up as well.

“You just know Cerberus has to make more trouble.” Garrus grumbled.

The next door opened out onto that catwalk and the commander stepped through, heading up the short set of stairs before her. She meant to get across that catwalk as quickly as possible. It would not due to be caught up there in a Cerberus attack. She preferred have solid ground beneath her feet if she was heading into combat.

“Hope you're not afraid of heights.” Nyreen said behind her and she could have sworn she heard some snark in her tone.

Shepard simply shook her head and continued forward without a word. The catwalk proved to more than just a simple scaffolding. The clang of her boots on metal was somehow reassuring as she moved. She took note of several large pipes jutting through the floor and running along the walkway. When she heard the faint clang of metal on metal, her eyes snapped up and scanned the area before them. Those pipes were about to prove very useful, she realized when the smoke began pouring from the canister barely three feet away.

“Crap! Cerberus troopers!” Garrus growled and dropped behind one of the larger pipes.

“Finally, a little recognition.” Aria snarked.

Shepard glanced back at the asari and shook her head as she took cover herself. _Insane, that's what she is. Barely predictable, hardly trustworthy, volatile.._. Those were the thoughts racing through her mind as she threw a singularity out to capture those hiding in the smoke. Once this mission was done, she would take whatever resources Aria offered. She could not be done with the woman soon enough. Not after the asari had threatened her bondmate, not after she had clearly injured him. She could not allow her worry for him to cloud her judgment, however. There were enemy troops to put down and a station to liberate. He was alive and she knew he would remain so if they could get through this to Nyreen's outpost.

“Actually, Aria, _I'm_ target Alpha.” Nyreen stated harshly as she fired her assault rifle into the cloud of smoke that was being sucked up into the singularity.

Glancing between them and their opposition, Shepard realized she needed to be on the other side of this catwalk. Her eyes locked on Garrus for barely a heartbeat before she bolted from cover and ran for the edge. It had to be four feet across, but she allowed her momentum to carry her over as she jumped for the other edge. She heard Garrus' sub-harmonics rumble something anxious and almost within her ever increasing range of hearing, but she was unable to make it out. Part of her mind tucked that bit of information aside for a closer look later as she staggered, catching her balance on the other side. Her next step took her into a roll for cover as a stray trooper fired on her. The bullets pinged the metal flooring bare inches from her.

Tucking herself into an alcove behind a large loop of pipe, Shepard peeked out and cringed backward out of range when several rounds ricocheted off it near her face. _That was too close.._.. she grumbled at herself before blasting the strip ahead of her with a shockwave. Several troopers shrieked, one caught fire in the blast and she realized he must have had a flamethrower.

The moment it appeared clear, she stepped out of cover and headed for the door at the other end. A boot scrape sound carried faintly from above. She glanced up just in time to see the Phantom drop off the edge, sword whirling and ready. Shepard's pistol clicked on an empty chamber when she attempted to fire on the elite trooper.

“Shepard...” the woman purred in an almost mechanical voice as she rushed her. She was certain there was a laugh in the Phantom's voice.

Shepard heard her team scrambling toward her, attempting to get a clean shot. A couple of shots actually rang out and missed the Cerberus woman. Casting a warp toward the woman resulted in her simply sidestepping it and thrusting her sword toward the commander's middle. She gasped at the sudden, unexpected impact.

“Shepard!” Garrus barked, his sub-harmonics snarling in distress from his position of cover behind a large loop of pipe.

Sinking to a knee, dragging the woman down with her, she caught sight of Lilfrey making her way quickly toward them from above. The turian dropped behind the Phantom on nearly silent feet. An instant later, she looped a garrote around the woman's throat and gave a hard jerk. The motion nearly took the woman's head off as her hands went slack on the hilt of the sword.

Shepard staggered back, catching her footing with a shallow breath as she remained in a kneeling position. Her hands smoothed over the pucker in her armor that held the blade even as Garrus rushed toward her. Letting out a breath, she gripped the hilt of the sword and carefully withdrew the blade before dropping it to the floor with a clatter. The turian's hands were pressing against that pucker an instant later, concern drawing his brow-plates down.

“I'm not wounded.” Shepard whispered, locking eyes with him as he knelt before her.

“How...?” he asked simply as he looked down at the slit in her armor, then at his hands. “You're sure?”

Nodding, she took his hand and let out another shaky breath before getting to her feet. “No blood, no pain.... it missed.”

“Too lucky for your own damn good. It'll catch up to you one day.” Aria grumbled as she crossed her arms and practically glared at the commander.

“I'll take what I can get to win this war.” Shepard nodded and put her hand on her bondmate's arm as he levered himself back to his feet.

“That luck's going to run out, but I hope it sees us all through to the end.” Lilfrey muttered.

“Let's go. We've got a station to liberate.” Shepard breathed as she jogged toward the door at the end of the catwalk.

“Lockdown system's been compromised so many times it hardly knows up and down anymore.” Nyreen grumbled the moment Shepard touched the door and it locked them out. A moment later, she opened her omni-tool. “Nyreen to base. Need an engineer at the catwalk's entrance. Door's jammed again!”

“More Cerberus troopers!” Garrus snapped as he slid into cover behind a low pipe that doubled as a railing.

“That's all we need.” Lilfrey grumbled

“Let's see what you've got, Cerberus.” Aria purred.

“This may... take a minute.” Nyreen sighed as she slipped into cover behind a taller pipe.

Shepard glanced up toward the upper catwalk and sighed inwardly before launching a shockwave upward. The walkway shook with the number of Cerberus troopers rushing into the area. The shockwave threw several of them to their deaths off the sides.

“You're not just using the catwalks as a secret passage to your base, are you, Nyreen?” Aria asked suspiciously.

“A long drop is the best way to get rid of unwanted guests around here.” Nyreen answered smoothly.

The pair had moved off to her left and she ignored them for the most part. They were firing into the cluster of troopers still gunning for them. She did not care if they out snarked each other so long as they got the job done.

“Shepard!” Garrus barked.

The commander turned just in time to see a trooper drop on jets behind her. She gave him a cold smile before punching her omni-blade right through the lens of his helmet with a grunt. Nodding toward the turian, she moved to another position after the trooper's body hit the floor.

“Firing high impact shot!” Garrus barked and Shepard ducked down behind a crate.

A moment later there was a rumble and an explosion up top. Most of the troopers still up there were ripped apart by the shot. Shepard raised her brows at Garrus and he cocked his head to the side with a flick of his mandibles.

“Scratch one!” he snarked.

“A few more than one, I think.” Lilfrey let out a half laugh from her position.

“Are those doors open yet?” Aria growled.

“They're working on it.” Nyreen grumbled and fired several shots at the remaining troops on their level.

“Uh... Crap!!” Garrus snarled and lined up his widow with the threat up top. “Atlas mechs... two of them up top!”

“My engineers have hacked the bridge controls. Look. The mechs are trapped up there.” Nyreen stated as she pointed at the upper bridge. It was clearly engaging and moving to seal the gap.

“One less to worry about!” Garrus let out a hoot with a half laugh in his sub-harmonics as another trooper hit the ground under his near perfect aim.

Shepard heard the whir of gears seconds before Nyreen confirmed what she already knew. She slipped out of cover and headed for the doors. “That's the last of them.”

“Door's open! Let's go!” Nyreen snapped and ran for the doors just as they began to slide open.


	47. The Outpost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyreen doesn't like the direction in which Aria is attempting to take their battle with Cerberus.

“Boss.” the turian male behind the barricade said as he lowered his assault rifle. “It's good to see you in one piece.”

Nyreen nodded and headed for the door to their left. She wasted no time in keying in a code as she nodded for the others to join her. In the next corridor there were a couple of turians standing watch and an asari kneeling before an injured krogan.

“Wonderful, another shaking lift.” Lilfrey grumbled as Nyreen passed through the door to their right at the end of the corridor.

“Don't like it? Don't come.” Nyreen grumbled back at her.

Lilfrey gave her a hard look that she nearly missed. She nodded instead with a smug flick of one mandible before turning back to the lift controls. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Lilfrey really would remain behind. She doubted it.

“We'll be evacuating this location soon.” Nyreen began the moment she stepped out of the lift on the next level. She indicated Garrus with a nod of her head and pointed just over his right shoulder. “You should see Maxeus over there. He'll get you patched up. While you're all here, try not to interfere with my people's work.”

Garrus simply mumbled something and received a nod from the commander before following Max and splitting off from the rest of them. She knew his wound still needed treatment no matter how stubborn he appeared. He would do them no good if he dropped over dead from blood loss or a preventable infection. She had caught a glimpse of his skill level and refused to allow the loss of such a valuable asset. He might not be a part of her team, but he was still part of the war effort, under Shepard's watch. That was a much more demanding and critical position and she knew it.

“Intel just reported in. The group of civilians we managed to evac arrived safely at the other outpost.” a Talon member stepped into a brisk walk beside Nyreen. “Routine sweeps are reporting nothing new on the adjutant presence.”

“Adjutants?” Shepard asked as Nyreen nodded to her underling.

“Thank you, Itaso.” Nyreen murmured as she took the data pad he offered. She turned back to Shepard the moment the turian male stepped away. “Creatures created by Cerberus. They... eviscerate their victim's DNA, converting them into more adjutants.”

Nyreen offered the commander the data pad and watched the human's facial expressions as she looked it over. _This should be interesting_. _I can't imagine she's going to like what she finds_.

“They're something new, a kind of Reaper-based bio-weapon. I've fought a couple of them before. Pure nightmares.” Aria elaborated as Shepard looked the data pad over.

“It got worse after you left. Cerberus lost control of them. Those things tore apart the gangs, then attacked everyone in sight.” Nyreen stated, taking a half step closer to the asari before starting to pace. “If Cerberus hadn't found a way to contain them, the entire station would be infected by now.”

“My god...” Shepard breathed as she looked the images and data over. She glanced up at Nyreen, handing her the data pad and shook her head. “Keeping your people alive through that... it couldn't have been easy.”

Nyreen dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a second before answering. “I watched friends get turned into monsters.... and _I_ had to kill them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an outpost to defend.”

“The adjutants really got under her plates.” the turian heard Aria comment as she turned and headed off toward the commander center of the outpost.

Nyreen did not care where the others went so long as they stayed out of her way. She could not bare to think of the friends she had lost to Cerberus and their experimental monsters. Bio-weapons, that was what they were. She had watched them virtually tear her friends apart before they turned them. It was the stuff of nightmares made flesh. A lesser mind might have cracked under that kind of pressure. She realized, as she looked up at the towering bank of monitors in the center of the room, that she might not be as stable as she was before Aria left Omega.

“Commander, I just wanted to say thank you.” came Juliso's voice from the medical station behind her and to the right. He was one of the squad Cerberus nearly killed when Shepard and her team interrupted them.

Ignoring them, Nyreen took the stairs two at a time to the command module above. She scanned the holo-map thoughtfully before stepping up to the rounded unit and keying in several strings of encrypted codes. It had been a long day and she worried it was about to grow longer.

Glancing to her right, she acknowledged Itaso with a nod as he stopped beside her once more. The scrape and rattle of a boot on the floor mesh to her left drew her attention to Shepard. The woman was much smaller than she had thought she might be. The rumor mill said she was ten feet tall, chewed steel girders for fun and spit acid. Of course, she never believed the rumors. This was a human they were talking about, after all. Somehow, she had thought the woman would be just a little taller than the five feet of shapely human female that stood beside her. Delicate yet tough, those were words she might have used to describe the woman. The terms clashed just as the blue stripe down her right arm clashed with the red of her armor.

Nyreen's eyes were drawn toward Garrus as he made his way up the stairs to join them. She realized that blue stripe was a perfect match for his colony colors. _Clan colors. He's not colony born, can't be. Those are the Vakarian markings._ _ **Spirits**_ _, he's a_ _ **praetor**_ _... maybe the last of them. What the hell is he doing in the middle of this mess..?_

Pushing those thoughts aside, she trained her eyes on the map before her. She spoke directly to Itaso then. “Cerberus is backing off for now. Make sure the scouts keep an eye out for the next attack.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Itaso said with a nod before he turned and motioned for a couple of his men to follow him.

“You've done an excellent job, Nyreen, but I'll be taking over now.” Aria said the moment she stopped opposite Shepard. Her expression shifted to a frown as she continued. “You know what happens to people who argue with me...”

Standing up that much straighter, Nyreen gave her a defiant glare. “And if I say no? You'll just... kill me... and take over anyway? My people won't stand for that.”

Aria stepped to the railing and looked out over the occupants of the outpost. “Yes, they do seem... _nauseatingly_ loyal. Either way, I'll get what _I_ want.”

“ _Not_ this time.” Nyreen growled as she leaned a hip against that same railing.

“You both saw what we're up against here. Do you really believe either of you can do this alone? I don't.” Garrus rumbled from his place at Shepard's side.

“Garrus is right. It's a hard truth you both have to accept, but we need to work together if we hope to liberate this station.” Shepard said calmly.

Nyreen glared at them both for a moment. She ducked her head and closed her eyes in thought for another few seconds before letting out a breath. “You might be right, but the _people_ of Omega are my priority.”

“You take over _one_ gang and you think you're ready to decided what's best for _Omega?_ Nyreen, watch and learn.” Aria put a hand on her hip and paced toward her, glaring up at her. She paced a couple of steps away from her before opening her omni-tool. “Ahz..”

“Everything's in place. The entire station's connected.” the salarian's voice cracked across her comm like a shot with his high-strung tone.

Nyreen's mouth opened slightly in shock as Aria's image filled every monitor around the room. She watched the asari pace forward and raise her arms as if in welcome. Aria was putting on a show.

“People of Omega, I have returned!” she said dramatically. “Cerberus believes they have beaten you. They believe they _have_ you under control. They are gravely mistaken.”

Nyreen shook her head at the asari when she glanced her way. She took note of the lowered tone of anger in her voice. Aria looked back to the monitors and pointed, shaking her finger at the masses they could not see. “You are the lawless of the galaxy. You _cannot_ be beaten and you will _never_ be controlled. Be ready. Your chance to strike out at your oppressors is coming. Together, we will _take Omega back!_ ”

The second the monitors went blank, Nyreen gave her a sideways glance. “That's your plan? Throw _civilians_ at Cerberus?”

“ _Anything_ is better than being locked up like mindless animals waiting for slaughter.” Aria growled and took a step toward her.

“I know what you're up to, Aria... and I _don't like_ it.” Nyreen took a step backward and crossed her arms. Glancing down at movement below, she took note of one of her 'gang' members leading an asari and a wounded batarian toward the medical station. “I have civilians to evacuate. I'll deal with this later.”

Aria crossed her arms and simply glared at the turian woman. It did not surprise her. Their relationship had been similar every time they had disagreed over something. She almost gave in to the sigh she was biting back. It was bittersweet seeing the asari again. She missed the fire that had brought them together even in the heat of this particular disagreement.

Nyreen gave her one last hard look and stepped away before shouting orders. “Alright! Let's get these people ready to go. Now!”


	48. Joining the Cause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is not thrilled with Aria's speech or the possible repercussions it could have.

“What _exactly_ are you trying to do?” Shepard growled in a low voice at Aria as they stepped toward the railing. She watched the turian woman stomp back toward the station map like an angry varren.

“ _Trying?_ ” Aria asked with a slight waver in her voice. She leaned on the railing and glared out at those below preparing the injured for travel. “The people of Omega – _my_ people – _love_ a good street fight. When it breaks loose, they'll be ready. Nyreen's code of ethics won't let her sit by if civilians are exposed. That's what makes her utterly predictable and therefore easy to manipulate.”

Shepard noticed how the asari glanced at Nyreen before turning her back on the turian. She also noticed how her voice had grown so much softer on that last admission. Some part of her wondered if this was Aria's way of getting back at her former lover. There was no doubt in her mind now that was exactly what they had been. There was too much tension between them for anything else.

“Cerberus is launching another offensive!” Itaso came running up to the bottom of the stairs to all but shout his report.

“Looks like I'm not the only one who didn't like your little _speech_ , Aria.” Nyreen growled as she pushed herself away from the station map.

“Glad I got his attention.” Aria purred as she picked up an assault rifle that had been left lying on a crate near the stairs.

“Commander, landing pads are yours. My people and I will hold the main doors.” Nyreen ignored Aria and spoke directly to the commander.

“Got it.” Shepard nodded.

Moving down the stairs, Shepard glanced between the two gun turrets at the main doors. There was a turian at each one and an asari before each of them holding a biotic field. It looked like a very effective setup to her. She thought to mention the idea to Hackett during her next report.

Nyreen jogged past her to the door on the right and keyed it open. She did not follow them through. The second Shepard stepped through it, she ducked behind a stack of crates just as pieces of a turian body blew by her, drenching her left side in cobalt blood. She had gotten lucky when she ducked her face against her shoulder pad. The gore had missed her face, but her hair was soaked.

Garrus growled something as he ran past her to cover on the other side of the room. She was pretty sure he had turned his translator off for that one. In many ways, she could not blame him. Human, turian... it did not matter what species. No one deserved to be blown apart like that.

Moving from cover to cover, she took potshots at any Cerberus trooper that fell within range of her pistol. Those she missed, she tossed biotics at. It was wearing her down, her biotics were not packing the punch they normally did. The fact that she was crashing from her Red Sand exposure did not help.

When she spotted the Rampart Mechs, she resorted to her pistol to take them out. Her nose was already beginning to bleed by that point. She stumbled on one of the steps leading up to a platform completely blocked off by that force field they were seeing everywhere. Stopping before it, she took a deep breath and simply stared at it for a few seconds. As an afterthought, she attempted to wring some of the cobalt blood from her hair without much success.

“Commander Shepard...” Nyreen's voice came over her comm. “We need your help at the main doors.”

It took her a few seconds to register the request and she turned toward the railing. Vaulting over it, she headed toward the landing pad doors. Garrus was close at her back, a solid and soothing presence. Aria simply stood glaring at that barrier for several more seconds before joining them. She was not sure where Lilfrey had gone. The turian woman had disappeared the moment they entered the Talon's outpost. She could be anywhere.

They cleared the door and ran down the corridor to the sound of gunfire. Shepard made it nearly to the main doors before an explosion threw her back with a grunt. She shielded her face with an arm as several bodies were thrown past her with the blast. A shiver ran up her spine at the idea of being drenched in another bucket of anyone's blood.

The platform on the other side of the door was chaos. She bolted for the cover of one of the many barricades that had been erected. The shockwave she tossed at the troopers cost her dearly blurring her sight badly. She shook her head to clear it and swapped her pistol for her own sniper rifle.

The biotics were done for now. If she continued, she was likely to burn herself out, or worse. She nodded toward Nyreen when the woman caught her eye and they both fired on the Atlas pacing back and forth on the platform before them. Garrus must have aimed at it as well because he hooted the second its upper half exploded.

“That's it. Cerberus is pulling out.” Nyreen breathed from her position a few feet away. “Let's talk, Shepard.”

Shepard followed her back into the main section of the outpost and watched her kneel beside a turian body she thought might have been Itaso. Nyreen bowed her head, arms on her knees with a sigh. Clearly the male, whoever he had been, was dead. “The Talons will join your cause. Someone's got to make sure you don't run roughshod over _our_ people.”

“You see, Shepard?” Aria purred.

“Let me guess. _She_ said I was predictable and therefore easy to manipulate.” Nyreen practically repeated Aria's words verbatim.

Shepard crossed her arms with a nod. She glanced at Aria smugly. “Pretty much word for word. She thinks she playing you.”

“Nothing new there.” Nyreen said with a sad sigh as she glanced at Aria. Her eyes narrowed a moment later. “One thing though; _I_ maintain command over my people. This is not up for debate.”

“Just have them ready.” Aria grumbled, taking a step toward the turian.

“Oh they'll be ready” Nyreen all but purred and looked down at Aria with her own smug look before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than usual chapter, but we'll get there. ;)


	49. A Wild Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus was determined to see that Shepard caught a little rest on the ride back to Aria's bunker. Some things just don't seem to go as planned.

The trip back to Aria's bunker started off easier than the trip to Nyreen's outpost. They took an undamaged aircar from the landing pad with the Talon leader's blessing. Shepard, exhausted as she was, leaned against him and caught herself nodding a few times. Garrus could tell by the way she jerked upright a couple of times that she was ready to burn out.

As it turned out, Itaso was not the body Nyreen had been checking over when Cerberus nearly blew the outpost out the side of the station. He drove the car now with Aria riding shotgun. Garrus found he did not care who drove so long as they made it to their destination. Shepard needed whatever rest she could catch between battles and he intended to see that she got it.

“How bad is this?” Shepard asked quietly as she rubbed a hand very gently across his middle.

“Wild shot... grazed my last rib plate.” he said softly as he put his hand over hers. “Cracked it, hurts like hell, but I'll live.”

“You think she meant to kill you?” she asked with a glare toward the asari.

“Hmmm... maybe.” he said thoughtfully, following his bondmate's gaze. “I think she's ruthless and she'll do whatever it takes to get what she wants.”

“Including murder.” it was a statement on a quiet breath.

“If I wanted him dead, I'd have killed him outright.” Aria grumbled from the front passenger seat.

“Damn asari ear flanges...” Garrus grumbled as he put his arm around Shepard and allowed her to tuck herself in close against his side.

“Wounded, you could have been a liability. I see that you're _much_ more resilient than I first thought.” Aria elaborated as she twisted around just enough to glance back their way.

“Yeah... thanks...” Garrus half grumbled, still not believing she was sincere.

The car banked sharply to the right in a sudden swerve that threw him against the door panel hard enough to rattle his plates. Shepard did everything she could to prevent her weight from crashing into his cracked plate. The engine screamed as Itaso manipulated the controls desperately. He heard what might have been slugs pinging off the rear of their car an instant later.

“We've got a tail... it's Cerberus. I'll try to lose them. Just hold tight.” the turian male breathed as he zipped the car around a tight corner between two buildings.

“You do realize... _this_ is a dead end...” Garrus grumbled as he began to recognize the area they were flying through.

“Not exactly. Not since Jaroth blew the roof off your old base.” Aria stated as she glanced at them both again.

“Crap...” Garrus all but hissed as the buildings flying by took on a familiar quality. He had hoped never to see this section of Omega again. Too many bad memories.

The car shot through the upper floor of an abandoned building before banking hard to the left. Rather than be thrown across the back seats, Garrus dug his gloved talons into the back of Shepard's seat and the ceiling. He pressed his feet hard into the floorboard to brace himself further. Just their luck to get a car without a working harness system.

“Are you _trying_ to kill us?” Shepard barked at Itaso angrily as she clung to the back of his seat.

“No, ma'am! I'm trying to _save_ your lives.” he growled.

The wild ride through the worst of Omega's slums was like a bad flashback. Garrus held his position as best he could and refused to focus on anything outside the car. He could not risk it. Any sight from his old stomping grounds could trigger an actual flashback. That was one place he did not wish to go again. It had been bad days ago when he had seen the shadows of the past as clearly as if they stood before him in the flesh.

Aria opened her door and threw a flash grenade out behind them as the car dove into the remnants of a burned out building. They came to a sudden stop within the burned out shell. “ _That_ should throw them off our trail.”

Garrus glanced back, realizing the grenade had created a big enough blast to light some of the shattered furniture they had grazed a blaze. It might just be enough to convince the Cerberus operatives chasing them, that their car had been destroyed. His gaze drifted back toward Aria with a nod.

“You think that will work?” he finally asked her.

“It's the best we've got.” she grumbled. To their driver, she said. “Wait here _no less_ than ten minutes _after_ they fall back. It should be safe to resume our course to the bunker then.”

“You got it.” Itaso nodded, but it was clear by how his mandibles drew in tight to his face, that he did not like taking orders from the asari.

Time seemed to drag by while the Cerberus shuttle searched for them. Garrus was certain they must find them as they combed through the burned out structure. The moment he thought their number was up, the shuttle pulled back and zipped away. He let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding a moment later.

True to her word, Aria made Itaso hold their position for a solid ten minutes before she allowed him to pull out of the cubby they had hidden in. The man waited the it out to the second before returning to their previous route. Garrus glanced at Aria with a new respect, but that did not mean he liked her any better than before. He simply respected the strategy she had employed. Regardless of what he might think of her, she had proven she could keep them alive in a bad situation. True, she had been looking out for her own hide. He knew that beyond a doubt, but he also knew better than to look a gift kantog in the mouth. It might just snap his head off.


	50. Roadkill Cologne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard realizes Aria's right, her bondmate does smell like last month's roadkill.

“We're almost there, Shepard.” Aria said as she climbed out of the car and headed toward the bunker. “The Talons will be the frontline fodder. Now we just need to bring down the force fields to clear the way to Afterlife.”

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the asari as they passed through the doors and climbed the stairs to the woman's command center. She did not care for Aria's view of the Talons. They were people just the same as the civilians the asari had riled into a frenzy on the other side of those force fields.

“Bringing those force fields down all at once will compromise the safety of Omega's civililians...” Shepard commented as they reached the top of those stairs.

Aria glanced over her shoulder at the commander with a knowing smile as she continued toward the station map. “Cerberus will have a million fires to put out when the people of Omega rise up to reclaim what belongs to them. In one fell swoop, we'll have the people _and_ the Talons working for us.”

Shepard caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced toward Garrus. The turian was shaking his head slightly. There was a sour look on his face when he finally spoke. “Compromising your alliance before it even has a chance to take shape? Not a good strategy, definitely not the way to create or... maintain... allies.”

“Allies, truth and goodwill? I've learned _not_ to put much stock in any of those.” Aria confessed as she eyed them both.

“It might be time to reconsider those commodities. You'll want to keep some allies around to ensure your position on Omega... just in case.” Shepard made it clear she was in complete agreement with the turian.

“Tell ya what, I'll take it under advisement. Now, I need to plot our next move at the command console.” Aria let out a sigh as she shifted her weight before that map. She glanced between them, sniffing in disgust. “Why don't you two get cleaned up. You smell like roadkill.”

Shepard glared at her as the asari turned toward that console and virtually dismissed them. She was about to say something when a gloved turian hand gently closed on her shoulder. Glancing back at him, she took note of the pinched look around his eyes. He was in pain, tired and in desperate need of a shower. She realized she was too. Her hair was stiff with the turian blood she had been drenched in earlier. There had been no time to clean it out. Aria was giving her that time now, she realized.

“Bray will show you where the personnel facilities are.” Aria threw over her shoulder before smiling at the batarian. “Won't you, Bray?”

The batarian grumbled something before pushing himself up from his seat. He glanced at the asari with something verging on anger and waved a hand at them. “Come on.”

Nodding, Shepard followed the batarian. Garrus limped along abreast of her. In all the chaos of the run on the warehouse district, she had almost forgotten he had injured his leg. That bridge crashing down on him a few days ago felt so surreal now. His side was the real concern. The leg would slow him, but that injury did not have the potential to become fatal. The side? He said it was a cracked plate. She needed to see it, assess the damage for herself. Aria had fired on him, after all. She still was not sure if it was accidental or purposefully. Only the two of them knew that for sure. _Maybe Lilfrey, but no one knows where she is. She disappeared right after_.

Bray led them to the rear of the bunker, not far from that shuttle she had been sitting near when Garrus had returned to her. She knew there were several compartments back there, even a couple that had been converted into sleeping rooms. Most were not much more than storage closets.

“Shower's in there.” the batarian pointed to a hallway between some of those 'closets' she had not noticed before. “I'll ping your omni-tools when Aria's ready to start the next stage of the attack.”

“Thank you, Bray.” Shepard said quietly.

The batarian grumbled something and nodded before heading back the way they had come. At least he was not blaming her for the loss of Aratoht. Most of the batarians on Omega seemed to understand that she had attempted to warn the colony. Some of those on the Citadel knew it too. She, however, still blamed herself and suspected she would until the end of her days.

“I don't know about you, but... I could _really_ use that shower.” Garrus said softly at her side. “I don't even want to name what I actually smell like.”

“It's not that bad.” Shepard said as she headed down the short hall.

“You don't have to lie, Shepard. I reek and I know it.” Garrus huffed a faint laugh.

“You smell like a turian... maybe a little stronger than usual, but...” Shepard began as she found the room in question.

“Riiiight. Strong _loosely_ used in place of... _horrible_.” Garrus murmured as he closed the door behind them.

Shepard could not control the crooked smile that crept across her face at his tone. She ducked her head as she began peeling off pieces of armor. “I... wasn't gonna say it....”

“Hmm... I _stink_... like a dead varren baking in the sun for a month.” Garrus grumbled as he released the clasps of his chest plate around his cowl.

“Well, I think we can fix that.” Shepard purred as she helped him shimmy out of the upper section of his chest plate.

Garrus bunched his nose plates up the second he hauled the massive piece over his head. Shepard tried not to inhale too deeply. He was right, he did smell awful and that was just his upper half. It took several minutes to release the clasps and buckles holding the armor plating together around his ribs and abdomen. She noted there was still dirt and tiny stones caked into the crevasses between those pieces. It all fell around him like rain as they removed the armor.

Normally the turian would have removed it himself, but his side was restricting his movements. She could see it even if he refused to admit it. The moment he released his codpiece, Shepard choked back a cough and blinked a few times in an effort to control the sting from the odor rolling off him.

Three days. He had been buried under that pile of rubble three days and there was no doubt he smelled like it. Garrus glanced at her with a faint widening of his mandibles, tilting his head slightly in a gesture that she took as an apology. He was keenly aware of how bad he smelled. More so, she realized, than she was.

Removing the armor from his arms and legs proved much less offensive. The leg spur was indeed fractured, however. Removing the armor structured around it had proven difficult. He had hissed and yelped a couple of times through the process.

The moment he was free of the armor, she expected he would take the undersuit off as well. Instead, he stepped over to the shower nobs and cranked them on. He yelped at the sudden chill until the temperature rose to a tolerable level. She watched him for a moment as she removed her own armor and undersuit. It did not take long to realize why he dove under the spray still outfitted in the last layer of his gear.

Motioning for her to join him, he began peeling that off slowly under the spray. She helped him work the thick, clinging fabric down. The second it finally dropped around his ankles, he kicked the soiled suit against the wall with a sigh. The force of the water was doing wonders in removing the grime from both them and his gear.

Tilting her head up to gaze into those crystal blue eyes that looked down on her, she smiled with a sigh of her own. The heat of the water, plus his hands in her hair, was working loose the last of the tension in her body. She had carried a good deal more tension the last few days than she had since her incarceration on Earth.

Ducking his head down to rest his plated brow against her forehead, he pivoted them enough to put her directly under the spray. She allowed him to work the stiffened blood out of her hair as she ran her hands subtly over his sides. Her right hand found the rough edges of the cracked plate along his left side and he flinched.

“That's... um... that's tender, Shepard.” he said softly.

“We should assess the damage.” she began and at the pinched look he gave her, she nodded. Ever so carefully, she smoothed her hand over the wound. Her voice dropped to a whisper with her next statement. “I wanna make sure _this_... doesn't... separate us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are missing a chapter between 50 and 51. I managed to skip it in the upload process. Trying to work tidbits of that chapter throughout those that follow is annoying the crap out of me. Should it be added or should it become a stand-alone linked to this fic? Thoughs?


	51. Haunted Insights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyreen felt this entire mission was a plea to save the people of Omega. If that was the case, she meant to go straight to the one person she thought might actually give a damn.

“Shepard, got a second?” Nyreen asked as the human drew up toward the medbay.

The human nodded and stopped before her. The woman glanced at Archangel when he stopped beside her, one hand briefly touching her shoulder. She had guessed how it was between them long before she ever noticed the intermingling of their scent. He was never far from her.

“I know time is short, but I was hoping to talk to you, alone.” Nyreen glanced at him and emphasized the last word.

“I'll see if I can find us a couple of ration bars.” Archangel said, excusing himself with a slight nod.

Shepard locked eyes with him and nodded as he stepped away. Her eyes returned to Nyreen a moment later. “Aria will be joining us soon. Now may be our only chance.

Nodding, Nyreen motioned for the woman to walk with her. “I'm not trying to undermine Aria. I _know_ she has to be ruthless.”

Shepard eyed her as they stopped. Crossing her arms and leaning against a console, Nyreen continued. “Let her have revenge. I'm not doing this for _me_ and I'm not doing it for Aria... or what we once had.”

“It's for the people of Omega. I get it.” Shepard paced as she acknowledged the sentiment.

“Someone _has_ to be their voice in all this.” Nyreen felt as if she were making a plea for those people. She knew it was not falling on deaf ears. This woman before her was the pinnacle of achievement. If it could be done, she would do it. “Incredibly powerful forces are about to do battle with them caught in the middle. I just hope, as we bring down those force fields and go to war, that you can keep the people in mind.”

“Are your people ready for the fight?” Shepard asked simply.

“Right to the point, I like that.” Nyreen gave her a small flare of her mandibles. “You needn't worry about the Talons, Shepard. They didn't always serve with integrity. They'll do what needs done, for a better world. I wonder if the same can be said for Aria.”

“I gotta know... how did you get mixed up with her? She doesn't seem like your type.” Shepard asked, holding up her hand. There was a note of irony creeping into her voice.

“The manifestation of my biotic abilities tossed a wrench into my military career. My superiors saw fit to 'reallocate' me.” Nyreen shook her head, clenching a fist that slowly began to glow. “They practically locked me away. I couldn't _use_ my skills to benefit my people... so I quit. I floated around the galaxy, looking for a new purpose.”

“Seems like everybody ends up here... eventually.” Archangel said as he came back to Shepard with those ration bars. He handed her one. “All I could find on short notice.”

“Guess I lost my way and ended up here. Lost myself here for awhile too.” Nyreen admitted. She did not mind that Shepard's bondmate had rejoined the conversation. He seemed fiercely loyal to the woman. “But... then there was this _beautiful_ , fierce creature who didn't let anyone define her. I'll admit, I was mesmerized. I wanted a little bit of that to rub off on me.”

Spirits bless the woman, Shepard had the _courage_ to ask the obvious question. “How close were you two?”

“The draw was undeniable. Her strengths mirrored my insecurities. Maybe, deep down, it was the same for her.” Nyreen shifted her feet a little. She had not realized that emotional well still ran so deep as she peered over the edge. Letting out a remorseful sigh, she continued. “Trying to be with her... turned into trying to _be_ her. Nyreen Kandros was vanishing.”

“You seem like your own person to me.” Shepard remarked critically.

“For all the drama between us, I'm grateful to Aria. She helped me remember who I am.” Nyreen shifted again and glanced downward. The partial lie would be plain in her eyes and she knew Shepard would recognize it. “It took a lot to break away from her, but I regret nothing.”

Examining old scars simply revealed to her that they were still wounds. There was a time she would have given anything to wrap her arms around Aria again. Some part of her wondered if there might come a day when she would give into that idea. Surely she was strong enough now to maintain herself, her own personality, separate from Aria. _I've done a fair job so far. So close to her now, I feel that pull more than ever. Could it really work this time? Am I strong enough to walk beside her as an equal? Spirits, I just need to make sure she's going to do right by the people of Omega first._

To her credit, Shepard did not push the subject. She simply nodded. Nyreen glanced up and realized they might have something in common there. The brief look she caught in the human's eyes said she had seen that kind of remorse herself.

“Why does the mention of these adjutants disturb everyone here so much? You're all veterans.” Archangel interjected.

Nyreen's eyes snapped up to them both then. Quick as that, the cap on that well of emotion was settled back into place. “I know fighting Reapers is old hat to the two of you... But these? What they do to people? They could still be out there... waiting. I don't even want to _think_ about what could happen to Omega's people if those things come out of hiding.”

“Sounds bad.” Shepard commented.

Stepping back a fraction, Nyreen nodded and narrowed her eyes. Her last words were little more than a whisper. “The image of that drives me... and _haunts_ me.”


	52. The Eezo Plant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria would never admit it... not to anyone, but she was absolutely terrified of what the adjutants were capable of.

Aria watched them for a moment before making her way to the door. She noticed the subtle shifts and changes in Nyreen's expressions as well as her sub-harmonics when her name was mentioned. It dawned on her then that the turian might still have some feelings for her. There was no question that she still loved that turian. She supposed the reason she surrounded herself with so many of the turian species was due, in no small part, to that. Some part of her hoped to recapture what she had lost with Nyreen. If not with Nyreen herself, then perhaps with another of her species. No one had drawn her in as powerfully as that particular creature had.

“Let's go. The sooner we reach the eezo mines, the closer we'll be to taking Petrovsky out.” Aria said as she finally made her presence known.

“Agreed.” Shepard stated as she checked the heat sync in her pistol.

Ignoring her, Aria glanced at Nyreen out of the corner of her eye. She could not help the faint smile that slipped across her face. _So determined and driven. I've missed that. Hard to believe she thinks she was losing herself in me. I imagined it was the other way around. Better if we came together as equals... this time. It_ _ **will**_ _happen, Nyreen. I'm not giving up_ _ **just**_ _yet_.

The trip to one of the elevators in the blackout zone was surprisingly uneventful. She knew she had Ahz to thank for that. The salarian had made it his priority to hack and lock Cerberus out of as many access routes in between as he could. Given that fact, the run through those corridors had been eerily quiet. The only sounds that accompanied them were their footsteps and the rumblings of the battles being fought across the station. She suspected the Talons were still harrying Cerberus in small pockets of resistance.

Finally, they took the elevator they had been aiming for. It carried them down several levels as Aria opened her omni-tool. She scanned the local power reserves, just to be sure their initial readings had been correct. The moment the elevator stopped and the doors opened, she stepped out first.

Closing down her omni-tool, she looked to Shepard. “We're arriving at one of the eezo processing plants. It's been powered down, so we'll have to pry open the door.”

Shepard's bondmate grunted behind them and stepped up to that task. Aria raised a tattooed brow at that. She had not expected him capable of the kind of strength or strain it would require. After her gun went off in their little tiff, she had thought he might bleed out. That shot, unintentional though it may have been, had proven one thing to her. _He really is_ _ **dammed**_ _hard to kill_.

“I've got this.” he rumbled as he stepped between them, then past them to the doors.

“Access to the mines should be on the far side.” Aria commented.

“And the reactor is beyond that?” Nyreen asked, clearly eyeing Shepard's bondmate as he felt across the seam of the doors.

“According to the schematics. I _ran_ Omega, Nyreen. I didn't work the mines myself.” Aria grumbled.

Garrus worked his fingers between the doors and grunted as he dragged them apart a fraction. A few seconds later and Nyreen had slung her assault rifle over her back, stepping in to help. He nodded at her as she got a grip on the other door. Between them, they forced the doors open enough for the asari and the human to slip through.

“No, you had indentured servants for that – _Spirits_...” Nyreen grumbled the second she slipped through those doors. Her words ended in a rasping breath of shock.

Archangel... Aria knew she would forever call him that, waited until they were through before he wedged his own body past the doors. The moment he was through, he practically skipped sideways out from between them as they snapped shut.

“Relax.” Aria growled at Nyreen as she knelt down to investigate the bodies piled against the railing. “They're all Cerberus.”

Shepard joined her, shining her light over them with a grim look on her face. “They've been ripped to shreds.”

“I don't like this.” Nyreen said quietly, her sub-harmonics thrumming with distress.

Shepard took point, her flashlight a beacon in the dark. Aria followed close behind. She would not admit it... not to anyone, but she was absolutely terrified. Those marks left on the Cerberus troopers, she knew those. Those were the marks the adjutants left on their victims, the ones they did not turn anyway. She was glad of the faint blue glow in the piping overhead. Raw eezo still filled those pipes. It would provide just enough light to catch any kind of movement beyond the flashlights' beams.

As they moved deeper into the plant, Aria noticed there were bodies scattered throughout the place. She could hear something that was somewhat detached from the place. Something that sounded like the rain of sand over stone, but more organic. There were faint clicks interlaced in that sound and it sent a shiver up her spine all the way to her scalp. One of her scalp tentacles shifted faintly with her distress and she ran a hand over it to smooth it back into place.

“More dead.” Shepard suddenly said as they came to a juncture along the catwalks.

“It's a bloodbath.” Nyreen let out a breath that sounded just as distressed. The turian female looked all around them then, including upward. Her breath coming in shorter burst of obvious fear.

“I've got a... _bad_ feeling about this...” Archangel said very quietly. His sub-harmonics were thrumming with something akin to anticipation.

“We shouldn't be.......” Nyreen's whisper was interrupted by what sounded like something growling.

“Quiet!” Shepard's barked whisper silenced the group. The woman panned her flashlight over the still structures of the plant before them cautiously. The sound came again, louder, closer than before. “What's that sound?”

Aria knew exactly what it was and she honestly wanted no part of it. Her breath caught on the words. “An adjutant.”

“You know... the general must have locked this place down to keep it here.” Nyreen speculated quietly.

“If it attacks, we'll deal with it.” Shepard grumbled and continued forward slowly. She picked her way past the litter of shredded bodies carefully.

The moment Aria saw the door they needed, she let out a relieved breath. “The elevator to the mines is through that door.”

“Well, that's a problem.” Archangel's sub-harmonics issued an irritated sound behind them as he tapped his visor.

“Yeah... it's deactivated.” Shepard huffed as she seemed to get his meaning.

“Then... we need to power this place up.” Aria grumbled. That meant more time spent in the dark with that... _thing_. “There should be a master circuit breaker somewhere.”

“Those pipes... along the wall...” Archangel pointed with the muzzle of his rifle thoughtfully. “Those are power conduits.”

“And they lead to the door. We should follow them back the other way. They're bound to lead to a power source.” Nyreen caught onto his idea quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll be playing a bit of catch up as I missed posting a chapter in between 50 and 51... sigh. Too much chaos around me lately. I'll work the chapter in somewhere.


	53. Into the Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next level revealed several large consoles and another body.

Shepard was not thrilled with the near complete darkness of the plant. She, for one, was all for turning the lights back on. That animalistic growling they heard had set her nerves on edge. Bad enough the place was nearly as dark as a crypt, but that snarling beast lurking somewhere beyond... She could do without that.

Following that conduit, she found the floor grating simply ended. With a sigh of frustration, she dropped the couple of feet down to the man-sized pipes running the entire length of the plant. It occurred to her to wonder if the turians in the group could manage those as she took a two step running leap across open space.

“I _really_ wish you would look before you jump across a gap like this.” Garrus grumbled and then grunted as he followed her.

“Why? I don't really wanna know what's down there.” Shepard replied honestly.

He grumbled something under his breath at that, but continued onward.

“The growls are receding.” Aria said, sounding just a little relieved.

If Shepard had not known the asari better, she might have thought the woman was absolutely terrified of the adjutants. It would not surprise her to learn that was the truth. After having seen what they did to their victims, she could not honestly say they did not inspire a certain amount of concern for her as well.

“Maybe the adjutant doesn't like it's odds.” Shepard could not help the slightly snarky comment.

“Don't kid yourself. I've seen just _one_ of those things take down an _entire_ squad.” Nyreen informed her.

Shepard finally came to another section of flooring and climbed up to that level. Shining the light around, she took the stairs leading up to her right. She prowled the area, looking for that illusive circuit breaker until she found a ladder leading down. _So many levels in this place. Was the floor manager drunk? Maybe high? I realize the mines are dug into the heart of an asteroid, but come on. The floor plan of the plant doesn't have to be this disorganized_.

The next level revealed several large consoles and another body. He was lying near what could only be the circuit breaker they had been looking for. Before she could stop him, Garrus jogged forward and looked the console over. A couple of heartbeats later, he hit the breaker. The consoles all around the room powered up with red light.

“When this is over, there'll be a lot of repairs to make.” Aria said thoughtfully as she looked around the vast room.

“I hope you'll focus on the civilian areas first.” Nyreen said, stepping in close to the asari.

The commander saw the frown that creased the woman's face at that and realized Aria was bordering on purple in this light. “You are relentless.”

The turian woman ducked her head briefly before looking back up at the asari. “That's one thing we have in common.”

Shepard covered her mouth with a hand, hiding the smile and suppressing the snicker. Those two seemed perfectly suited for each other. Either they would kill each other or they would end up romping together between the sheets. However it went, she saw it as a win so long as the war effort received the promised resources.

The explosion of glass and metal was so sudden it took her breath. Her eyes widened as the glowing beast burst through one of the displays near the arguing pair. Faster, more agile than the average Reaper-spawn, it moved sinuously away from the ruined console.

“Spirits!” Nyreen's voice was a gasping bark.

“Oh... crap!” Garrus growled as the adjutant aimed what could only be a weapon in it's arm at him.

“Unload on it!” Shepard yelled, bringing her pistol to bare on it.

The adjutant fired off a shockwave and her bondmate went flying into the glass above one of the consoles. He disappeared behind that console with a grunt as he dropped to the floor in a rain of broken glass. There was no time to check on him, she realized, as the adjutant advanced on them.

“Nyreen! Wake up!” Aria shouted at the female beside her.

Shepard threw a warp at the thing and realized too late that biotics did not seem to have much affect on it. She ducked down behind the nearest console and peered around it. The others were firing everything they had on it. The adjutant was barely slowing. Instead, it took a couple of running steps and sprang at them.

Nyreen and Aria scattered in different directions bare seconds before it hit the floor. Shepard swapped her pistol for her sniper rifle and took careful aim at the monster. She ignored the faint flash of blue light to her left and fired. The shot grazed the top of the adjutant's head. The second shot from her left ripped through its head with explosive force.

“I hate those things.” Nyreen grumbled, lowering her weapon the second the creature slumped to the floor.

“ _Hate_ should make you deadlier. _That_ looked like fear to me.” Aria growled.

“Alright, that's enough! Let's get back to that door.” Shepard barked at them. She nodded to Garrus as he stepped out from behind the shattered console he had sniped the target from. _No blood, no armor damage, nothing broken. He looks ok_.

There were lights now, but the place was still dark as the void. There could be more of those things and she knew it. Taking a look around, she noticed a short flight of stairs not far from Garrus' position and headed that way. She looked him in the eyes and put a hand on his shoulder as she passed him. He nodded with a flick of his mandibles.

There was a door at the bottom those stairs. From the red holo at its center, she knew it was locked. That, she realized, was not a problem. Not while her 'tech' bondmate was with them. Whatever else he was, he was damned good at hacking things.

At her nod toward the door, Garrus stepped up to it and began hacking. She suspected he was simply inputting codes he and his team had developed, in reality. After all, they had had the run of the entire station. Who knew how many secrets he knew about Omega. He might even know a few that Aria did not. It might be worth it to ask him about it at some point. She just was not sure she wanted to bring up his lost team while they were still on the station. There was the very real possibility that he could lapse back into his PTSD symptoms if she did. That was the last thing she wanted.

It took him a few minutes to crack the lock. When he did, he thumped it with a knuckle and the door opened. His mandibles flared slightly as he glanced her way from under his brow-plates. Clearly he was happy to be of some use here.

The trek back through the plant was brighter, she could give it that much. There was a tension rolling off her team that she could have cut with an omni-blade, however. It set her on edge as well. There could be more of those things lurking in the shadows. And there were plenty of shadows.


	54. Adjutant's Abound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus knows his actions are reckless, but his side is killing him. He's so ready to be done with this mission.

“ _Spirits!_ There's _another_ one!” Nyreen suddenly snapped as they rounded a corner.

Garrus pressed his arm into his side and half slid into cover behind an outcropping the instant he saw it. Aria's medic turian had done a slipshod job at patching him up. The medic had done the bare minimum to see him through to proper treatment. It was not meant to withstand what he had already put it through.

Being hit by a biotic blast and thrown through a glass panel? That was undoubtedly more than it could handle. His head was swimming in the pain from his side as the adjutant advanced on him. _No time to worry about that now_. His aim was not as careful or precise, but it was effective. The adjutant went down in two shots.

Resting his plated brow on his forearm for a second, he did not notice Shepard moving in close. She knelt beside him and put a hand on his upper arm. “You ok?”

Glancing at her, he saw the worry clearly written all over her face. _Better if she doesn't know how much pain I'm in_. Giving her a simple nod, he levered himself back up to his feet with the widow. He could feel the shattered edges of his cracked plate grinding into the hide just below it. She had been right when she ran her fingers over the long, sweeping cracks in his lowest rib plate. Shepard had said it resembled a shattered egg shell. She had grumbled at him there in the shower room, growled about him risking his life.

It had become clear to them both when he snatched his undersuit up and wrung it out. The strain and the way his forearm muscles had stood out told her all she clearly needed to know. He was in more pain than he was telling her. Their omni-tools had pinged before she could say anything more and for that he was almost glad. He had a feeling she would have insisted he sit this one out. _Hell, she might have ordered me stay behind, but we both know she needs me here_.

Now she gave him a nod and continued on past the body of the adjutant. He looked down at the beast and cringed. There was no telling exactly what it had been before Cerberus had filled it full of Reaper tech.

They were nearly to the elevator when he heard it, another adjutant close by. _Crap_... it was an inward groan as he counted at least three more sets of vocals. He knew he could not take another hit like that last. Those things needed to be taken out of the equation and fast.

“Garrus! What are you doing?!” Shepard barked as he broke from her side and ran back at one of the adjutants rapidly advancing on them.

“He's going to get himself killed!” Nyreen gasped out. “That's what he's doing!”

The turian did not answer his bondmate as he whipped his combat knife out of its sheath. He flicked it around and ducked low, sliding past the first adjutant's legs. His blade caught it's ankles, right across what the humans called the Achilles tendons. It staggered, screamed and fell as he continued past it. The moment it was down, he doubled back and took a run jump at a pipe to his right. Kicking hard off that, he drove his combat knife deep between the creature's shoulder blades and jerked it backwards to himself with a grunt. His weight took the monster completely to the floor even as it had been trying to regain its feet. The action cost him. His side burned like hellfire, but he meant to be done with this as soon as possible.

As luck would have it, Shepard had taken out the second one that was stalking his movements. He had known she would and had counted on her actions. That left just one more. It had moved off behind the piping system that ran the length of the plant. He could hear it, but pinpointing it was another thing. The adjutant did not give off the same readings as a normal biological organism. His visor was having issues tracking it.

“Che ruk!” Nyreen suddenly barked as her assault rifle leveled at his head. Her words quite literally translated to 'get down' though he could not figure why she had reverted back to their native language.

“Fuuuck....” the word was a drawn out breath of disbelief as he glanced behind him.

Brow-plates raising as far as they could in an instant of profound horror when the thing rose up over him. His mandibles sagged around his jaw. Garrus dropped to his knees and took cover behind the body of the first adjutant. Nyreen let loose a long burst of fire the second he was below her scope. The final adjutant fell with a snort and slid into the body of the first.

“We need to get to that elevator.” Shepard growled quietly the moment relative silence returned to the plant. The look she spared him said they were going to have a little talk about his reckless behavior later.

The plan to infiltrate through the dark zone seemed to be the right course of action, if not for the adjutants. Garrus wondered how many more they might encounter along the way. His idea to take this route to the generators just might get them all killed. Even still, they needed to reach those generators, or at least the big one and this was the only route available to them. The general's force fields were siphoning gigawatts of power from it every second. Aria had complemented him on spotting and tracking the route, but he had to wonder if it really was such a good idea now.

Stumbling to his feet, he tried to hide the grunt of pain the movement dragged out of him. Shepard must not have noticed as her eyes did not snap back toward him. The moment he stepped onto the elevator, he opened a small compartment in the left bracer of his armor. With a quick motion of practiced ease, he flicked the used cartridge out and loaded a fresh dose of medi-gel. Seconds only and the pain began to recede. Shepard's eyes caught the glint of the cartridge just before it fell through the grating. Those eyes snapped back up to his face and narrowed.

“I'll seal the door behind us... just in case.” there was a chilly edge to Nyreen's voice as she moved across that elevator.

“On to the mines.” Aria breathed as the elevator started moving upward.

Shepard moved closer to him and he let out a tired breath. He knew she was about to tear into him for not letting her know how much pain he was in. It nearly took an act of the spirits themselves to force him to use any kind of drugs these days.

“When were you going to tell me?” she asked simply, softly.

“Didn't want to worry you. Too much at stake right now.” he grunted.

“I still think you should have sat this one out. I don't like you risking your life like this. Not for Aria... not for a mission like this.” she grumbled.

“And I don't like the solo runs – ” Garrus sighed before meeting her eyes again. “I'm not doing this for Aria. You need me at your six. That's exactly where I plan to be.”

Shepard frowned slightly before nodding at him. “Still doesn't mean I have to _like_ the risk.”

They both knew there was not a lot of choice in this mission. Injured or not, he was there and there were still enemies to dispatch. Risk was part of the job. If they made it out the other side of this war together, he thought he might like to retire somewhere warm and tropical.

“What's eating you, Nyreen?” he heard Aria ask the turian woman on the other side of the elevator.

“Over thinking...” Nyreen said, turning toward the asari. “The general clearly sealed this place off to keep the adjutants in.”

“Along with some unlucky soldiers.” Shepard commented.

“And we may have just released them on an unsuspecting populace.” Garrus grumbled as he looked his rifle over.

“Yes.” Nyreen nodded. “The creatures killed them, but didn't turn them into more adjutants. Why?”

“Maybe it had something to do with the limited space.” Garrus suggested. He was grasping at straws there and he knew it.

“Maybe... I just can't shake it – something's off.” Nyreen voiced her concerns.

“You're just spooked.” Aria suggested as she stepped a fraction closer to the female.

“There's a rhythm to this place, Aria. If you'd stuck it out here, maybe you'd feel it too.” Nyreen grumbled at her, eyes flashing angrily.

“Whatever's in our way, we deal with it and keep going.” Shepard finally interjected. Clearly she had had enough of their bickering.

After several minutes and a half dozen levels, Aria turned toward the grinding sound in the distance. “You can hear the drills from here. _Dammit_ , they shouldn't be straining like that.”

“Cerberus must be working them hard.” Nyreen agreed.

“The force fields may be siphoning too much from the generators to keep them running smoothly.” Garrus suggested. He knew a little something about how those drills worked – and how they should sound.

Aria nodded, fixing him with a thoughtful gaze. “You could be right.”

The moment the elevator stopped, they all stepped off cautiously. Garrus looked around, expecting something to jump out at them any second. He caught Nyreen doing the same on the other side of Aria out of the corner of his eye. Somehow he thought those adjutants might be affecting the turian members of the squad more than the asari and human. He wondered why that might be and feared that answer more than any other.

“Access to the reactor is somewhere on the upper level.” Aria said quietly as she glanced upward.

“Then we need to get up there.” Shepard stated the obvious.


	55. A Trek Through the Mines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard did not give the Cerberus troopers a chance to put their plan into motion.

Shepard stepped off the elevator and glanced down through the grating between her feet. _Long way down.._. If she were honest with herself, she could not actually see a bottom. True, there were machines all along that drop, some were probably the drills. Hitting any one of those on the way down was sure to be instant death. The entire platform before her consisted of catwalks suspended over those machines and linking to what was clearly the main drilling platform.

Moving toward that platform, she cringed and attempted to steady her footing as a shudder passed through the entire rig. A boulder sized chunk of debris fell past the railing ahead of her, missing it by mere feet. The moment her feet hit the next section of grating, she released a sigh of relief. It did not bounce and sway faintly with each step.

“Intruders! Sound the alert!” came the shout of a Cerberus trooper not far ahead of them.

Glancing to Garrus, she signaled him to take a position ahead of her to the left, behind a curve in the railing. Aria, she directed to her right, toward a bulkhead. The pair moved off quickly, returning fire at the troopers that were descending on them. She had to admit, Aria took direction well. _When it suits her, at least_. She was playing nice for the moment anyway. The commander thought it might have something to do with Nyreen being present, however.

Nyreen had started forward and Shepard held her fisted hand up for her to cease. The female obeyed quickly and tucked herself into cover near the human. Slinging out a singularity, Shepard caught a snared of those troopers with it. More gunfire chased her back into cover a second later.

“Shit! It's Shepard!” one of the troopers yelled. It was followed by a volley of assault rifle fire.

“They know we're here for the reactor.” Nyreen said quietly as she peeked around the opposite corner of the crate and fired a couple of shots.

“Had to happen sooner or later.” Shepard grumbled just before bolting from cover. She threw a shockwave out and chased the pulsing waves down the narrow walkway past Garrus.

The turian had tucked himself into a nook and was leveling his sniper rifle, taking careful aim at a distant trooper. She had no time to admire the skill he so carefully practiced as she blew by him in the wake of that shockwave. Barely three feet past him, the walkway split off to the right. She shot in that direction and ran up the stairs, firing her pistol at the startled troopers above. They dropped like stones. One dropped a grenade and she gasped.

Seconds before it went off, she managed to duck behind the shielded railing that stuck out a couple of feet to her left. As luck would have it, that grenade took out the other two troopers in that area. It did not damage the flooring much. Scorch marks, that was the worst of the damage she could see.

Moving out of cover quickly, she dashed for a loop of piping as big around as her body. Tucking herself in behind it, she peered around it just as the others made their way into covered locations near her. There were not many choice in where they were going.

“We can use that maintenance elevator across the way.” Aria pointed out as she indicated the elevator at the far end of the platform.

“Hmm... we just have to call it back to this level.” Garrus grumbled softly.

“That could be a problem if there are troopers up there.” Nyreen commented as her eyes locked on their goal.

Moving out of cover, Shepard nodded to them and headed toward the elevator in question. She did not make it far before the walkway leading to it ripped itself apart in a localized explosion. It was enough to shake the entire platform and throw her footing off momentarily.

“We need to find an alternate route across.” Aria barked.

“You think?” Shepard grumbled at the woman. She was not overly thrilled with the continued obstacles this mission kept tossing in her path.

“I think they might have other ideas.” Nyreen snapped, pointing at the troopers that came down with the elevator moments later.

Shepard did not give them a chance to put their plan into motion. She simply threw a warp at one and threw the other two off the platform before the elevator had come to a stop. Leaning over the railing, she watched them disappear from sight as they dropped down that endless canyon.

Glancing back at Nyreen, she gave the turian woman a shrug and a cold smile. “What ideas?”

“ _Spirits.._.” Nyreen gasped out at the look.

Shepard ignored her and looked around the railing for a way down to the level below. When she spotted the ladder, she motioned to them to follow. A quick slide down and she stepped away from it to allow the others to follow her down. The moment the shot ran out, ducked behind the housing of a spinning turbine. Aria moved toward her, her eyes trained on the trooper with a silent snarl. The asari threw a biotic charge at him that must have been a neural shock. The man screamed and shook as electricity raced up and down his core.

The moment he was down, Shepard rolled out of cover and headed toward a gate off to her right. She heard her bondmate's rifle go off a couple of times. Clearly he was taking down troopers gunning for her.

“Looks like this goes under the conveyor belt.” Nyreen commented as she looked around at the path they were about to take.

“Doesn't look like we have much choice.” Shepard replied.

“No.” Nyreen agreed.

Aria tossed out another biotic charge and half skipped, half ran toward them as she turned. Garrus brought up the rear, taking pot shots at anything moving. Of course, Shepard knew his 'pot shots'. He could blow a fly out from between its wings at five hundred feet. That was to say nothing for his level of skill at greater distances. He would take down anything that moved along the way and follow them quickly.

Making quick work of the elevator, Shepard took stock of the area they were entering. Aria joined her a moment later, followed by Nyreen. She glanced overhead at the bucking conveyor belt once as dust rained down on them.

“Bastards are running this place too hot. It'll burn out in a month.” Aria grumbled as she too looked up.

“Stay focused.” Shepard grumbled at her. She understood. The livelihood of all of Omega was at stake if Cerberus burned out the drilling platform, but she could not worry about that just now. The Reapers were coming and the galaxy needed Omega's position to potentially hold them off.

“Sniper!” Garrus snapped from somewhere above and behind them.

Shepard let out a grunt as she dove into cover. The bullet pinged off her armored shoulder. As she glanced down, she noticed the silvered gouge running across it. That shot had taken the paint and pissed her off. Tucking her pistol into its holster, she drew her own sniper rifle. Peering down the scope, she spotted the sniper. The woman was attempting to line up a shot.

Taking a breath and holding it, Shepard lined up her own shot. She released that breath and squeezed the trigger between heartbeats. The faint 'tink' of the glass lens shattering could be heard just before the other woman's scope exploded back into her eye. The bullet blew out the back of her head.

“Nice shot!” Garrus hooted.

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and swapped her rifle in favor of her pistol once more. Her skill was no real match for his, but she could definitely hold her own. She had simply held a better angle on the sniper.

They jogged along beneath the conveyor for a couple of minutes. Just past those Cerberus bodies, they found another gate, this one locked from the other side. Even still, it looked promising.

“I think this is going to get us there.” Nyreen breathed as she slipped out of cover to really look at the path before them once the threat was eliminated.

Garrus joined them a moment later and stepped past Shepard toward that gate. He opened his omni-tool and began scanning the locking mechanism. “I think she's right.”

Shepard watched him work, his fingers dancing over the keys inlaid within the holographic display of his omni-tool. A heartbeat later, they all heard the clink of the lock releasing. The turian spread his hands with a slight flaring of his mandibles to indicate the success.

“Cocky turian.” Shepard said quietly with a smile just for him.

“You enjoy it.” he huffed a laugh.

“Hmm.” she hummed at him and stepped through that gate.

Following the railing around to a ladder, she climbed it quickly and came up to the next level. Off slightly to her right was a set of stairs. That was clearly their path, she was sure of it.

“Head up.” Aria barked as she came up beside the commander.

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the thinly veiled order, but said nothing. The asari knew this area better than she did. She was almost certain Nyreen must know it better, but the woman deemed to remain silent on the matter.

“Fall back! Fall back! They've made it across the breach!” came the shout of another trooper.

“Negative!” shouted another trooper. “Defend the elevator! They're here for the reactor!”

Shots rang out then and Shepard was forced into cover once more. She sheltered behind a crate and glanced around quickly. A set of stairs directly to the right leading into a control room, a walkway straight ahead and Rampant Mechs heading her way.

Garrus ran into the squared space to her left and dropped down behind the shielded railing. He had opted for his assault rifle given the rapidly advancing enemy. The sniper would take too long to reload. It was a wise choice.

Tossing out a shockwave, Shepard destabilized the mechs and picked a couple off with her pistol. Her bondmate mowed a few more down quickly. Slipping around the crate in the midst of the chaos, Shepard made her way up the stairs and into the control room. That room amounted to nothing more than a couple of tables and a dead bank of consoles. There was nothing in the room of any real use.

As she moved toward the stairs leading out, one of the mechs rushed her. It hit her with a blast that raced along her nervous system like hellfire. She let out an enraged yell tinged with pain as she hit it with her elbow and kicked it down the stairs. Her pistol came to bare on its synthetic face and she blew a hole through it.

Gasping in pain, she ducked back into the room and slid down against the wall. Red 'electricity' raced across the surface of her armor and skin for several agonizing heartbeats. When it finally dissipated, Garrus was there, kneeling before her. Nyreen was close by, keeping watch for more enemies.

“You alright?” the concern in his voice radiated through his sub-harmonics on a frequency that seemed to vibrate right through her bones.

Nodding, she took his offered hand and levered herself back to her feet. She was alright this time, but she certainly did not want a repeat performance of whatever that had been. Nodding at the others, she jogged down the stairs and around the corner to her right.

“Made it. Hit the switch.” Aria barked out the order the second it became clear they had actually found the elevator controls.

Shepard wasted no time in stepping onto that elevator. The others followed, tucking in tight. It was a small platform style lift with little space for the bulk of armored figures.

“They know our target. Expect heavy reinforcements.” Nyreen breathed as she watched the level above them come closer.

“Just stay focused and find the access point to the reactor.” Aria said to the woman, the tone of her voice seemed softer.

The moment the lift reached the top, Shepard did not wait for the railing to drop. She vaulted over it and headed for the only door to the right. It opened easily without a sound. Her eyes flicked from the charred body of a turian a few feet away to the Cerberus engineer leaning on the railing over it. The man's back was to them.

Shepard took advantage of his inattention. She took two long strides and put the muzzle of her pistol to the back of his head. The grimace on her face said it all as her finger twitched on that trigger. The engineer fell over the railing silently and disappeared from sight.

Glancing back, she locked eyes with her turian bondmate briefly. He was kneeling beside the body, omni-tool open. Garrus shook his head and stood. Clearly he had been cataloging the death, an old habit leftover from his days at C-Sec.

“Checkpoint two-four-seven, update enemy location.” came the Cerberus operative's voice across the walkie the engineer had clearly dropped before toppling over the railing. “Checkpoint two-four-seven, are you there?”

Shepard reached down and snatched the device up. Looking out over the railing at the bulky machines before her, she held it thoughtfully for a moment. Finally, she made a decision and spoke into it. “I'm coming for you, Cerberus. I'll rain hell down on you one at a time, if I have to.”

Nyreen had moved off a little ways to investigate another body. “Looks like they invaded and killed everyone.”

“Looks that way.” Garrus agreed.

“There could be survivors.” Shepard said as she tossed the walkie over the railing. “We'll keep an eye out for them.”

“Don't hold your breath. If any of the miners are alive, they're working _with_ Cerberus now. That makes them the _same_ as those bastards.” Aria bit back. “Either way, we're paying them back in kind.”

“I'm sure the dead miners feel much better now.” Nyreen grumbled and Aria glared at her.

“Enough! We still have a mission to finish here. Your bickering is counter productive!” Shepard shook her head.

“This one's human.” Garrus said quietly as he sifted carefully through the dead man's pockets.

Shepard glanced his way with a nod. She had known there would be representatives of nearly every species down here in the mines. The turian held up a couple of clips and she took them, tucking them into the pouch behind her pistol holster. Her eyes remained on him as he gently shifted the body to uncover a Chakram Launcher.

“That's not a cheap weapon.” Nyreen commented, her eyes locked to the advanced tech rifle.

“Fully loaded. Got a couple of clips here.” Garrus murmured as he looked the weapon over. After a moment, he held the gun out to Nyreen. Her eyes grew wide and round as she took it and looked it over for herself. She reminded Shepard of a little kid who had just been given their first bicycle.

Garrus levered himself up to his feet with a grunt and the clear snapping of a joint. He staggered a step as he caught his balance, mandibles drawn in tight against his face. Shepard realized this run was not doing his fractured leg spur or his side any good at all. Her turian was likely to be down for awhile once this mission was over.

The moment she stepped away from them and headed toward the only open doorway available to them, she realized they were about to cross over into the open again. The glowing sign above it read 'Pedway Access'. The pedways she was familiar with were almost always open, accessible and vulnerable.

As they entered the corridor leading to it, she took note of the bodies littering the place. A mixture of miners and Cerberus. _At least they put up a good fight_. The thought was not soothing in the least, but it was true. She could see the truth of it in the Cerberus trooper caught in the door. It had nearly cut him in half as it was forced part way closed.

“No way through here.” Garrus grumbled as he scanned the door with both his omni-tool and his visor. He indicated himself and Nyreen with his next statement. “Servos are fried. Even _we_ can't force it open together.”

“Then we'll find another way.” Shepard nodded as she gauged the size of the gap. Even if they pushed the body out of the way, they could not squeeze through.

Moving along the wall, she found an opening to a small ledge and a shear drop. Swallowing hard, she edge along toward the railing of a ladder she saw at the far end. _No railing. What were the builders thinking?_ She nearly choked at the dizzying height. From the scorch marks every so many feet, she realized the railing must have been removed.

Wasting no time, she made her way to that ladder until she had a firm grip on it. Only then did her heart decide that galloping was a less than stellar idea. Too many close calls with high places had done that. She was sure there would be plenty more to come.

Sliding down that ladder, she moved away to allow the others access. Aria was the first one to join her on the railed walkway. The asari pointed toward a towering structure bolted to the far wall. “The elevator to the reactor is over there.”

It looked easy enough, a simple walkway suspended below the main facility. Not the pedway she was hoping for, but still a relative straight shot. There was a gap where some of the grating had clearly fallen away, but she saw no real problem with that. An easy jump to be sure.

Shepard stepped out onto that walkway and swallowed hard as it shuddered under her weight. She glanced back at the others and held up a hand to stop them. “One at a time. It doesn't feel secure.”

Not waiting for a reply, she continued forward. Another couple of steps and the squeal of steel issued from the walkway. It shook and shifted, pitching her against the railing to her left dangerously. She gripped it hard and stared down at the falling debris. A couple more grating plates had broken free of that gap.

“Shepard!” Garrus barked, his hand on the shaking railing. It was clear he was barely containing his desire to break into a run for her.

Glancing back at him, she knew there was a look of terror on her face as she shook her head slightly. _This is not good. I could die right here. Fall off this thing and disappear without a fight. Not how I wanna go out... Helplessly... not again.._.

Carefully, she pushed herself off that bending railing and stepped back up toward the right on the canted walkway. It felt more stable now, but she knew it was wedged. That could let go any second. This had to be quickly done. There was only one girder holding the whole thing up now.

_I can do this_. There was more confidence in the thought than she truly felt as she came to the edge of that gap. It was double the width of a balance beam. She knew a quick pace would help maintain her balance as she crossed it. There really was no choice.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, her focus was solely on the other side of that gap. Letting that breath out, she stepped into a fast walk. It created less of an impact than a jog would have. The girder bounced and vibrated beneath her, but held. She sucked in a breath the second her feet hit the undamaged section on the other side. Turning back, she nodded to the others.

“One at a time. Take it slow and easy until you reach the bare girder.” Shepard called to them.

Aria came first, of course she did. She was the lightest of them without actual armor. Her bluish purple skin had taken on a paler dusty shade by the time she stood beside Shepard. At least she had not come through it unaffected. The commander found a bit of sadistic pleasure in that idea.

Next came Nyreen. The walkway shuddered and groaned under her weight. The section of railing Shepard had been thrown against fell away into the abyss below. The turian woman made it across the girder in four long strides. The walkway shook with each step.

Garrus was last. Shepard held her breath as he slowly limped onto the unstable walkway. Rust and dust rained down beneath him with every step. His right foot broke through the grating as he moved across one badly rusted section. He continued moving as quickly as his fractured leg would allow.

Shepard could not release that breath even as he took his first step onto the bare girder. She watched the loose dust shake free of it as a tremor passed through the entire structure. He was heavier than the rest of them. His armor weighed at least twice what hers did. Two hundred, thirty-five pounds of turian plus nearly two hundred pounds of armor and weapons might well prove too much for that weakened structure. His limping gait did not help matters.

“Garrus!” Shepard shouted and threw herself toward the edge the moment the girder let go.


	56. Barriers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luck favors who it will.

Garrus was roughly a foot from the more stable section of the walkway when the girder collapsed under his weight. He saw Shepard throw herself toward the edge of that walkway in an effort to catch his hands as free-fall suddenly overtook him. Grabbing for her frantically, they both missed the connection that would have allowed her to haul him up. He heard her all but scream in near instant grief and rage. Still, he refused to believe this was how he was checking out, however. The turian grabbed for anything that looked halfway solid as he fell. His right arm hooked around a section of twisted railing. His shoulder hitched hard against the bent mount as he bounced a couple of times, dangling in open space. The railing held, still secured up top to the walkway above him as it swung, creaking back and forth with a metallic grinding noise. He knew beyond a doubt that he was going to feel that sudden stop later.

Breath coming in short bursts, he choked back a half laugh at his luck as he looked up. He realized he must have dropped a good twenty feet from the walkway. There was barely three feet of twisted railing below him, sheared off from the other side of the walkway. _Three more feet and I really would have checked out_. He did not care for that thought at all. There were things he meant to do, plans for after this war that he was determined to see come to fruition. No way was he dying here or now.

“I... uh... I could... use a hand.” he called up toward his distraught bondmate, his voice echoing faintly off the sides of the 'canyon'.

“I thought... _God!_ ” her first words were a whisper of disbelief. The rest, she growled down at him the second her face appeared over the edge of the walkway. “Garrus, if we make it out of this alive... I'm gonna _kill_ you.”

“Promises, promises.” he huffed a laugh. He could still meet his end here if this was not handled with care. There was no telling just how much stress that railing could really take. He was also not sure exactly how they were going to get him back up to their level.

“I've got some cable... here. Aria, help me with this.” Nyreen's voice came from the far side of the walkway.

Garrus did not hear Aria's response, but a couple of minutes later, Shepard was on her feet. She turned to the other two women and took something from them. He could see her tying off a length of gray cable to one of the remaining suspension girders, near its base. It looked solid enough, but then so had the rest of the walkway. He watched from his precarious position as she tied off a couple of loops in the far end of the cable. She then looped the rest around the remaining railing to create a kind of manual pulley system.

From one breath to the next, the end of the cord dropped toward him. Shepard pulled up the slack to bring the loops to his level. Reaching out awkwardly with his left hand, he attempted to snag it. He missed on the first couple of swings. On the third pass, he caught it and wrapped the upper most loop around his wrist. As an afterthought, he wrapped some of the excess around his waist as well. That might well prove painful with his cracked rib-plate, but it was better than the alternative.

Getting his foot into the lowest loop proved a bit more difficult. He desperately wished he was wearing the softer shoes his people favored for casual wear then. Grabbing that cable between his toes might have been easier.

After half a dozen tries, Garrus finally had his foot in that loop. He glanced up at his bondmate with a slight flaring of his mandibles. “Moment of truth, eh, Shepard?”

Garrus watched her secure the cable around her forearm before nodding to him. He took a breath and slowly released his hold on the railing. The cable creaked alarmingly, but held. He was jolted when the tension from above slipped nearly a foot. The breath rushed out of him and caught on a half keen as his knuckles cracked with the strength of his grip on that cable.

“I've got you.” Shepard's voice was filled with strain even as the cable began to inch its way upward.

Garrus caught a glimpse of Nyreen hauling on a length of the cable passing from Shepard's grip. Aria was keeping watch for 'company'. That suited him just fine. He did not honestly trust Aria not to cause him to fall to his death here. The thought occurred to him that neither did Shepard.

The second that ledge was within his reach, he made a grab for it. The turian dug his gloved talons into the grating with a stuttering breath. The muscles of his arms and back strained in the effort of pulling himself upward. Shepard's hands gripped the arm holes of his upper armor and pulled as he attempted to swing his lower body upward. Nyreen maintained her grip on the cable, an anchor in case something disastrous should happen. The second Shepard could reach more of him, he felt his bondmate's hands slip between his lower back and the base of his upper armor. Between her and Nyreen, they tugged him up until he could roll himself onto the grated floor.

Garrus lay there for a minute just staring at the walkway above them. If he had been human, there might have been tears of relief flooding his face. As it was, he could not contain the faint keening that came with every breath. With the level of drilling noise, he doubted anyone else could hear it.

Shepard's gloved hand came into the line of his sight after several long thunderous heartbeats and he took it. He was on his feet and glaring back at that drop in seconds. The turian knew the sincere hope of never seeing this part of Omega again. _At least Cerberus will have a hard time following us via that route_.

After another steadying breath, Garrus glanced down at Shepard. The concern and relief was a mingle of stress on her face. At his nod, she gently tugged the tips of his unmarred mandible affectionately. With the next breath, he looked ahead of them and took point. There was no time to deal with any feelings or traumas that might come of that near death experience now. They had a station to liberate.

Glancing down at the conveyor belt filled with ore on this side of the walkway, he realized he could easily have landed on that if the railing had not broken his fall. It still would have been fatal. _Nothing's ever easy, is it? Shepard's right about that one._

The whole place rattled and banged with the noise of that ore being processed. It made for hearing any kind of threat difficult. Moments like this were what made him truly appreciate his cybernetic eye. It brought things into crisp focus as he looked for the threats he might not hear even with the hearing device embedded in his head.

Catching slight movement on the walkway above, he held up a hand and drew his sniper rifle. Peering through the scope, he saw the trooper just above them, near the ladder they needed to use. The man had his back to them as he squatted near the railing. That was fortunate. He could not raise an alarm against something he could not see.

Continuing to move toward the ladder, Garrus lined up the perfect shot between the segments of the railing. A twitch of his finger and bright red spray filled the air around the man's head. The shot had gone straight through his ear. The angle carried it out the top of his head. The trooper slumped against the railing, slipped through and then fell to the floor a few feet from them.

“Scoped and dropped.” Garrus rumbled faint before he took to the ladder. It was with some difficulty that he managed to haul himself up to the next level. His injuries were wearing him down, making him slower. He looked around cautiously as he stepped away from the edge.

“Strange... we're not being attacked anymore.” Nyreen said quietly as she came up behind him.

“Don't jinx it.” Garrus snapped softly.

“Yeah, be ready for _anything_.” there was a clear note of anger in Aria's voice as she came to the top of the ladder and glared at Nyreen.

A few steps from the ladder was part of the towering structure they had seen from the other side of the 'canyon'. The neon sign above it read simply 'Mine Complex'. This was nothing less than a large lift that would take them up to the main platform.

“Why are you grinning, Aria?” Nyreen asked as Shepard activated the lift.

“We're almost there.” Aria purred at the turian woman. “When the force fields come down, _this_ war _finally_ begins.”

“For some of us, it started months ago.” Nyreen countered irritably.

“ _That_ wasn't war, babe. That was just warm-up.” Aria purred again as she moved in closer to Nyreen.

Garrus shook his head at the tells between them. He could see where that was going if they both came out the other side of this mission. The real question, he supposed, was rather they might kill each other afterward or not. That was a very real possibility with two dramatically different personalities such as theirs.

“Opposites attract...” he muttered half under his breath.

“Yes they do, Archangel.” Aria breathed with a growing smile on her face.

Mandibles snapping to his face, Garrus had not realized his voice was loud enough for anyone to overhear. His next words were a grumbled mutter. “Damn asari ear flanges....”

“Any idea what we'll find up there?” Shepard asked, indicating the top level with the muzzle of her pistol.

“The generator, controls to shut it down...” Aria said vaguely.

The moment the elevator stopped and the door slid open, Shepard was staring up at the crackling tower. “I take it _that's_ the generator.”

“It is.” Aria confirmed.

They did not make it far before a VI drone stopped them in their tracks. It projected the holo-image of General Petrovsky the moment it stopped before them. “I commend you. Your plan of attack was impeccable.”

“Looks like we were expected.” Shepard grumbled as she glared at the glowing image. She lowered her pistol and glanced around the parameter of the force field that had been erected around them. One of them had tripped some unseen sensor.

“More like lured.” Nyreen growled.

“I knew the reactor would be the hard target. I gave you no choice, but this route.” Petrovsky continued.

“Could have found a safer path a few floors below.” Garrus grumbled half under his breath.

“Why don't you do this in person, Petrovsky? Get your own hands dirty?” Shepard snapped at the hologram.

_Careful, Shepard. No telling what amount of negativity will reopen one of those scars_. Garrus did not voice that concern. He simply chewed on it.

“I take no pleasure in _any_ of this, Commander.” Petrovsky's hologram stepped forward, hand gesturing to make a point. “You're the ones trying to start a war... for the _glory_ of Aria. But now it's over.”

“This isn't over until your next of kin can't identify you!” Aria snapped and took an aggressive step forward.

“I love your bravado, but have the sense to know when you're beaten.” Petrovsky began to pace as if he were in a lecture hall. “You've been neutralized, and I can leave you there to rot. You might as well give up.”

“ _Never!_ ” Aria barked angrily before turning toward the force field behind them with a sneer on her face.

“Aria, what are you thinking?” Shepard growled at her.

“I'm not going out like this!” Aria growled as she seemed to look the barrier over before drawing her hands up to her sides.

“Aria! Don't!” Nyreen snapped and rushed toward the asari.

Aria thrust both her biotically glowing hands into the barrier before Nyreen could get within two feet of her. She grunted as she began pulling the small hole open she had created. It was clearly a strain.

“What the hell is she trying to do?” Petrovsky snapped. “Dammit, Aria. You're forcing my hand. We'll do it your way then.”

“Oh crap!” Garrus growled and tucked himself behind one of the consoles within the field. “Mechs!”

There were several Rampant Mechs crossing through the barrier at the general's keyed commands seconds after his hologram disappeared. The mechs went down quickly enough under fire. The real trouble seemed to be the charges they left behind. If missed and stepped on, they sent liquid fire racing up and down their shields. It became quite painful after about the third hit.

Nyreen hung close to Aria, defending her position. Shepard moved around the area they were contained in. Garrus noticed she took fairly regular hits from those charges. It worried him what damage might be done. Short-term he knew she would recover from, but what kind of long-term affects could that have on her nervous system? He was horrified to even consider the possibilities as he took out as many mechs as he could.

“No!” Nyreen yelled when Aria began to falter. She cast a biotic field around the asari as more mechs dropped on their location.

“ _Uh... crap!_ ” Garrus raged at the situation. He was torn between protecting Shepard and ensuring their chance at escape, no matter how slim it might be.

“ _Go!_ I got this.” Shepard barked at him when she realized what was happening.

Nodding, he backed toward the pair, taking out mechs as he went. Shepard was moving in close to them from the other side. Nyreen was struggling to hold her barrier and fire on mechs at the same time.

“ _Shepard, I can't hold this much longer! Go!_ ” Aria yelled from a kneeling position, the strain in her voice more than Garrus had ever heard from her. She forced that hole just a little wider with a monumental effort.

Garrus reached out toward the biotic field Nyreen held around Aria and grazed his fingers over it cautiously a couple of times, sampling its flow and strength. It was weak and he thought maybe, just maybe he and Shepard could pass through it without being fried by it or that force field. He glanced at Nyreen with a nod as he added a trickle of his own biotic energy to hers. All Cabal were trained to sustain and maintain each other in times of crisis. This was certainly one of those times. The hope was to modulate her biotic field to his own biotic shielding just enough that it would not prevent his passage.

Turning toward Shepard a moment later, he grabbed her and tucked her close. She locked eyes with him the second his own weak biotic field sprang into being around them. At his quick glance, he hoped she understood what he was doing. He turned back toward Aria and that hole quick as a shot when Shepard's arms wrapped around his neck. A heartbeat later, he used his legs for the purpose nature had designed them and launched them both of them toward that barrier.


	57. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is faced with a choice: reroute power from the force fields or overload the reactor...

Garrus hit hard and rolled just as Aria lost her hold on that hole. He lost his hold on Shepard when he slammed up against a console. She rolled a little ways away from him and snapped her attention back to the force field. The instant her eyes locked on it, the hole ripped free of the asari's hands and virtually imploded. It's closing was accompanied by a warping sound. Aria was thrown backwards, away from the small energy field it discharged. A moment later, the turian woman was dragging the asari to her feet. Both seemed otherwise unharmed.

“ _Spirits_ , Aria. How did you know you could do that?” Nyreen breathed as she helped the asari to her feet.

“I didn't.” Aria said very softly. She sounded as if she was still in a bit of shock herself.

Shepard nodded to herself as she climbed to her feet. Her eyes found those of her bondmate and she gave him a nod. He was levering himself up off the floor. His brow-plates were drawn downward and his mandibles pinned tightly to his face. She knew that look; pain. He was in a decent amount of pain both from his injuries and the obvious bruising he had just taken.

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped toward him. “You ok?”

At his nod, she turned back toward their goal. They needed to get those force fields down. Now there were two more lives on the line. She had no doubt that Aria and Nyreen could hold their own. The trouble was, they were trapped and there was no telling how limited Petrovsky's supply of mechs might be.

Glancing again at Garrus, she realized his biotic abilities were growing stronger the longer they were together. She had never expected him to be strong enough to shield them both. Shepard had seen him testing Nyreen's field. She knew what he had been doing, but she could not do it herself. Her abilities were far too strong for a support role. She would have swamped the female's field if she had attempted to feed energy into it. Nana had strongly 'encouraged' her to allow the weaker biotics to support her. She meant to ask the asari about the turian's increasing biotic strength when they returned to the Normandy. After all, the woman was still hold up in the 'quarters' Victus had vacated when he returned to Palaven space.

Now that they were free, there were a number of mechs gunning for them. She spared Nyreen and Aria one last look before stepping into a run. Shepard headed toward the one structure she was sure housed the controls she needed. Garrus was hot on her heels, picking off mechs as he ran. She could hear the limp in his steps, but it was a faint offset of his footfalls.

Aria and Nyreen just needed to hold out long enough for her to get that barrier down. Admittedly, she did not care overly much for Aria. The woman had proven useful once she had realized threatening Garrus was not smart. She did not want to see the asari dead. Those resources she had promised would be invaluable to the fight against the Reapers.

There were so many more mechs and Cerberus troopers between them and their destination than she had realized. If not for Garrus picking some of them off with his assault rifle, she was not sure she could have made it there in one piece. _Best damn sniper in the galaxy. No lie or exaggeration there._

“These damn mechs just keep coming. They're not letting up, Shepard.” Nyreen's voice came over the joined comm.

“Stay alive over there, both of you. We're fighting our way through heavy resistance.” Shepard replied as she dodged around a stack of crates.

“Shepard! Here!” Garrus yelled from her right.

Heading for the stairs at a run, she took them two at a time beside him. Two flights up to the control room and half a dozen mechs later, they finally reached the reactor's contols. The moment the console came into sight, Garrus stepped in and started doing one of the many things he did best; hacking the system.

“You can't do this, Commander.” Petrovsky's hologram returned to badger them. “There's more at stake than you know. That reactor powers life support for dozens of wards across the station. Shut it down and thousands of people perish.”

“You hearing this, Aria?” Shepard asked through the joint comm as she touched Garrus' wrist with a shake of her head.

“Yes and I don't care! Shut it down!” the asari snapped from the comm.

“No, Shepard, don't. Try rerouting power away from the force fields!” Nyreen pleaded.

Shepard's lips parted as she locked eyes with her bondmate. Her words were a hiss as her eyes flicked toward the override. “ _Dammit!_ Hold tight down there.”

Garrus had seen her hesitation and glanced toward that override as well. His eyes found hers again and he shook his head. “I can do this, Shepard.”

The commander nodded. The idea of shutting the system down was tossed out the proverbial airlock as Garrus dove back into the task. She watched as his hands flew over the keys in response. He would attempt every possible way he could find to reroute power before he even considered the idea of mass murder.

“Rerouting the power to maintain the other systems...” Petrovsky paced and watched them both thoughtfully with his hands clasped behind his back.

“ _Are you crazy?!_ ” Aria was all but screaming at them as gunfire peppered the airwaves.. “We're almost spent! _Nyreen!_ Watch your flank!”

“ _This_ is who you're working for, Shepard! She doesn't _care_ who gets hurt!” Petrovsky sounded as if he were trying to convince her of something she already knew.

“No, but _I_ do... and so does _he_.” she nodded toward Garrus as she stepped around to the console directly across from him.

“What are you waiting for? Overload the damn reactor!” Aria barked heatedly.

“Be that as it may, Aria would just throw thousands of lives away...” Petrovsky trailed off.

“Shepard, Nyreen's _down_. I'm stabilizing her! You _can't_ reroute power in _time!_ Hit the _fucking_ overload! _Now!_ ” Aria sounded almost as if she were giving harsh orders and begging at the same time.

“This shouldn't be that _hard_. _Maybe_ something inside is holding you back.” Petrovsky suggested as he paced. “Maybe deep down, you're starting to think the galaxy might be better off _without_ her.”

Shepard ignored him as she started bypassing what she could from her side of the console. Maybe if they worked in tandem, they could pull this thing off. She blocked out the asshole pacing behind her as much as possible, but still some of his comments made it through.

“She's _never_ going to learn. She'll never change. Even if you win, Omega loses...” he purred.

Glancing at the override, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she opened them again, they trailed toward Garrus' hands flying over the keys on the opposite side of the console. Blocking that button out of her mind, she realized she already had too much innocent blood on her hands. She refused to add more. There was no way in hell she was going to add more to her bondmate's already stained hands either.

“ _Enough!_ ” Shepard fired back at Petrovsky and continued her bypass.

“Got it!” Garrus hooted just as the confirmation tone sounded. His eyes found hers from under his brow-plates with a faint spreading of his mandibles.

One last keystroke and she backed away from the other side of the console as well. The power grid shifted from red to blue in a matter of seconds. The force field came down barely a heartbeat later. She had followed her bondmate's queue. He had rerouted the power being siphoned off by the force fields back into life support and the powered down zones. It was brilliantly elegant in its simplicity. Her last keystrokes had fed the remaining power into Mordin's old clinic and the kiosks scattered throughout the markets.

With a final glare at Petrovsky, she and Garrus ran back toward the area they had left Aria and Nyreen. They took down mechs along the way. It was not an easy road back to them. Shepard had not expected it would be. The general was, no doubt, beyond pissed off at this point. He, through Cerberus, would throw everything he had at them now.

“You ok?” she asked the moment they were within earshot of the asari.

“Despite your best efforts to kill me?” Aria asked as she supported Nyreen awkwardly. Her eyes drifted toward the injured turian female as she growled at Shepard. “Your soft heart almost cost me everything.”

“Quiet, Aria! It worked! Shepard saved us _without_ sacrificing innocent lives. I applaud her.” Nyreen grumbled at the woman as she leaned on her.

“I suppose. Whatever.” Aria growled as she shifted Nyreen in order to force the turian to take all of her own weight. Her eyes returned to Nyreen then. “You fought bravely against those mechs in there, Nyreen. Very impressive.”

“But?” Nyreen asked clearly expecting a shift.

“Why can't you bring that same grit when adjutants attack?” Aria sighed, shaking her head. “It's pathetic. You... you tense up at the mere mention of those abominations...”

“Lay off. She just saved your ass.” Shepard stepped forward, right up in Aria's space and glared at her. There was a time and place to ask those questions. This was not the time nor the place.

“I'm trying to help her, Shepard. Call it tough love.” Aria bit at her, but there was honesty in her face. Her next breath changed gears completely. “The war's starting. I don't mean to miss it.”

“She's never been big on 'thank yous'.” Nyreen commented as Aria walked past them.

With the power restored to most of the blackout zones, they followed Aria to an elevator that had previously been powered down. Cerberus was withdrawing back into the heart of the station as they made their way out of the mines.


	58. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyreen realizes debating with Aria over senseless deaths is a matter of perspective to the asari.

As the elevator ascended, Nyreen pressed a finger to the implant near her ear pore. She glanced around at the others with a flick of her mandibles. Still, she was not sure exactly how she felt about the whole situation. “Getting reports. All force fields down. Civilians taking to the streets in droves. Cerberus pulling back.”

“That won't last.” Shepard commented.

Nyreen could not contain the surge of anger she felt. It was not directed at Shepard, but the human bore the brunt of it nonetheless. She pointed in a general direction and glared at the woman. “The people don't have the training to go up against Cerberus front lines. They'll be wiped out!”

“Civilian casualties can't be avoid. You'll have to accept this.” Aria crossed her arms and gave her a frown.

Turning toward her former lover, Nyreen glared at her as well. “Say what you will, Aria. I won't allow senseless deaths.”

“Do what you can to protect them.” Shepard agreed.

Glancing back at the human, she reigned in her anger a fraction. “Of course, Commander.”

“Aria. Bray here..” came the voice of the batarian over Aria's comm.

“Report.” the asari barked.

“My team is scouting the maintenance tunnels. We've encountered Cerberus forces escorting engineers.” he replied. There was a brief pause before he continued. “They're moving gear. It looks like they're setting explosives along the station's central support columns...”

“This is worse than I thought.” Garrus muttered.

Aria stormed across the elevator. “Bray, engage! Delay them as long as you can. We're coming!”

“Got it.” he said into the comm. Before it disconnected, they heard him begin barking orders “Roll out, people!”

“If they detonate the main column, they'll block the way to Afterlife. The Talon offensive will be stopped cold.” Aria growled, drawing her assault rifle as the elevator stopped.

“So... we split up?” Garrus asked speculatively.

“Yes.” Aria began as she eyed them. “Nyreen, lead the frontal assault. Shepard and I will meet you in the markets after we've taken care of those bombs.”

Nyreen stepped sideways and gave Aria a look she knew the asari might not recognize. “Of course, but don't expect me to build your memorials if you get yourselves killed.”

“I like it when you're feisty.” Aria said, giving her a coy look from the corners of her eyes.

Nyreen said nothing, simply eyed the asari. There were too many things left unsaid between them. This was just one more to add to the list. As much as they fought over the well being of Omega's civilians, Nyreen knew that deep down somewhere, Aria cared. She had cared enough to take a lost young turian under her wing for a time, and that turian was certain she cared now. _Even if you won't admit it, Aria_.

“Where does he fit into this plan of yours?” Nyreen finally asked as she hitched a thumb back at Garrus.

“He doesn't. He's going back to the bunker.” Aria grumbled. Before he could protest, she pointed at the flex-mesh between upper and lower armor segments. “You're bleeding, Archangel. As much as I expect there to be casualties, I _refuse_ to be responsible for _your_ death. I doubt Shepard would finish this if you died on my watch anyway.”

Shepard had turned and narrowed her eyes as she looked him over critically. It was clear by the subtle changes in her expression that she noticed the faint blue smears across the black flex-mesh. “She's right, Garrus.”

“Shepard...” it was a warning growl. His sub-harmonics protesting across the entire spectrum of sound.

What his bondmate could not hear, Nyreen did. She heard the desperation in his sub-harmonics to remain at the human's side. There was more, however. She heard the demanding tones that said simply, _'I won't submit. I won't be left behind. I refuse to fail in my duty'_. All of this, and so much more, trilled across the frequencies the human could not hear.

Nyreen glanced between them and wondered for a moment if this human really was so much different than the rest of her species. Could the rumors of her death and resurrection be true? If so, what exactly had Cerberus brought back? She wondered about the tech used in such a feat and how it might change the woman before her.

When the woman's features softened as she maintained eye contact with her bondmate, Nyreen was certain it had advanced her hearing. She stepped in close to him and cupped that horribly scarred mandible ever so gently. The action in itself gave Nyreen pause. It was true then, the woman might actually be able to hear turian sub-harmonics. Maybe even decipher them.

“I know.” the human said quietly. There were faint tones in her voice that pitched closer to the sub-harmonic frequencies. Humans seemed capable of that range even if they could not hear it. This, however, was so much more and Nyreen's brow-plates raised at it.

The undertones of Shepard's voice said simply; ' _Please, do this for me_ '. It was not lost on Garrus. She saw his brow-plates raise faintly and then lower as his eyes squeezed shut for a moment with a nod. He would do what she asked, but it was clear it was costing him by the shuddering breath he released. Nyreen got the strong impression that he absolutely despised letting the commander walk any path into danger alone. Even with a full squad, it seemed he considered her potentially alone and in danger without him. That was as it should be between mates.

Nyreen's eyes flicked to Aria at that thought. She wondered if the asari still carried her mark. The woman had favored that high collared jacket for nearly a decade now. There was a very good chance she had left the mark in place and decided to simply conceal it.

“The only route to the central column is through the tunnels.” Aria growled as she stepped out of the elevator.

“Crap! Mechs!” Garrus snarled as he bolted for cover a few feet from the doors.

Nyreen tucked herself against the wall just inside the elevator. She spotted Bray and a few of his people charging in from the right. The batarian smashed his rifle into the closest mech's face plate and kept going.

“We'll stay here and cover your backs!” Bray shouted as his team fired on Cerberus.

Between them, they took down a fair number of mechs as well as troopers before they moved deeper into the tunnels. Nyreen noted that Garrus seemed intent on remaining with them as long as he possibly could. If she were being honest with herself, she could not blame him. Leaving Aria to oversee that frontal assault was going to be one of the hardest things she was ever to do.

“Send reinforcements to the maintenance tunnels!” came the shouted order of a Cerberus trooper they had yet to take out.

They moved quickly from shielded railing to shielded railing. At least until the sniper took a shot at them and missed. Nyreen ducked down out of their line of sight and looked for the opportunity to take them out. Shepard's bondmate did not give her that chance, however. He had leveled his own rifle on the railing, took a practiced aim and fired.

“Scratch one!” he hooted the second the Cerberus sniper went down.

“You're enjoying this.” Nyreen commented, her sub-harmonics basically asking him ' _how can you take pleasure in killing_ '.

“Hmm... one down means one less to worry about.” he answered her sub-harmonic question in the verbal range, his eyes flicking toward Shepard.

“Cut them off! Take down the catwalk!” came the shouted order from what was clearly a Cerberus commander.

“That's my queue. Time to split off.” Nyreen grumbled. She knew what needed done here, but she did not have to like it. It was time. She needed to make her way around them, head for Afterlife and end this.

The turian woman had glanced away for a second when she heard the explosion. Her eyes widened when they locked on the rest of her team. Aria was tucked into an alcove, safely out of range of their attackers. She was returning fire with a sneer on her face.

Shepard had been thrown backward and her bondmate was kneeling beside her, right hand fisted before him and virtually glowing. A faint blue bubble shimmered around them as the flames from the explosion dissipated. That bubble was barely enough to surround the two of them. He let the bubble fade a moment later and sagged slightly from the obvious exertion.

Nyreen realized it was now or never. She had to make her break from the team and coordinate that frontal assault. Archangel, as Aria still called him, might well continue along with the team regardless of his bondmate's request. It seemed as if he might prove himself much more useful if he did. Wounded or not, he was clearly still a force to be reckoned with.


	59. A Wild Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pulling together every bit of biotic energy he could summon... and a little more, it felt like he was pulling white-hot spikes of steel through his plates.

Garrus had not been sure he could conjure enough biotic energy to shield them both, but he was damned sure going to try the instant he saw the second missile heading for Shepard. One of the Rampant Mechs had a rocket launcher. True, it was a much smaller caliber than the one he had tried to eat, but it could still have proven fatal. His bondmate was already on her back on the grated floor attempting to drag herself back up. She had clearly thrown herself away from the first missile.

The moment of truth came when he skidded to a stop beside her. He was determined, almost desperate to pull this off or they were both dying, right here, right now. There was no other choice left to him. Delving deep into himself for that illusive energy, he captured the faint surge between the heartbeats it took to stop beside her and glance up at that missile baring down on them both. If he had allowed that crippling reaction at the sight to freeze him, he knew they would both die. Instead, he snapped his jaw shut, drew his mandibles in tight and focused.

Pulling together every bit of biotic energy he could summon... and a little more, it felt like he was pulling white-hot spikes of steel through his plates. What took milliseconds seemed more like an eternity as he focused the energy into his hand. With a sub-harmonic keen, he doubled his fist and thrust the threads of energy outward around himself. The bubble formed, flickering a couple of times as it expanded around Shepard and solidified briefly.

The explosion of the missile against that fragile shield nearly ripped through it. His eyes squeezing shut against the inevitable, he felt the shockwave and the heat erupt inches from his face. His control of the shield faltered before the flames had completely dissipated. It had done its job, he realized, as he sagged in near exhaustion and relief. Before he could truly register how utterly drained he really was, he turned to Shepard. Part of her armor was hooked on the grating preventing her from rising. Without another thought, he grabbed the arm holes of her chest plate and gave a vein-popping heave, growling with the exertion. A loud pop later, along with several zinging shots flying past them, and he had her free. He all but dragged her into the cover of the huge loop of piping to their right with him.

“ _Damn_ , Garrus. Where did _that_ come from?” she asked quietly, her eyes locked onto him, wide and round.

He huffed a laugh and drew his sniper rifle from his back. “Desperation.”

That one word was all he had a chance to say before leveling his rifle over the top of that pipe and firing. Determination took over then and he lined up his shot on the mech with the rocket launcher. Its face plate exploded barely a second later as its weapon dropped over the railing before it. Garrus did not wait for it to drop before he took out its companion to the the left. He barely noticed Shepard firing around the rounded edge of the pipe an instant later. Her shots wavered slightly, but he saw them through his scope as he took the next mech down.

“Cerberus bastards...” he growled just before another mech dropped under his scope. On his next breath, he hooted. “One less to worry about!”

It was a short-lived victory as an explosion rocked the tunnels. The flash of the explosion nearly overloaded his cybernetic eye and he cringed away from the scope with a growl. The heel of his palm dug into his eye as he shook his head to dispel the afterimages.

“You alright?” Shepard's voice came to him quietly, filled with concern.

Nodding, he felt her hand on his upper arm before glancing at her through his visor. Most of the bio feed it displayed for him, he ignored. He knew she was likely uninjured. When it blipped red regarding armor integrity, his mandibles drew in close to his jaw in a tight frown. Her armor had been compromised. He saw one source, the right lighting unit running down her shoulder blade. The LED was shattered and the frame around it warped. That must have been what was caught in the grating, he realized. It was not the only source, however. His visor zeroed in on three more. Two puckered holes nearly merged together in the outer left thigh plating and one ragged groove in the upper left arm bracer. Even still, she did not appear to be injured, but he took careful note of her bio-rhythms just then.

“I did this...” he grumbled half under his breath as he tapped one of the new grooves in the rim around her right shoulder with a gloved talon.

“You saved my ass. The armor's replaceable.” she nodded and made brief eye contact before glancing around their shelter again.

“It could have been your skin.” he grumbled before shifting from cover. Garrus knew just how delicate her skin really was. If that had been her flesh under his talons... he clamped down on the thought.

“They took out the catwalk!” Aria snarled as she rushed toward the ruined bridge.

“The dam.... It looks like it can be extended to bridge the gap.” Garrus said thoughtfully as a light seemed to wink on in his mind.

“I like you're thinking. There's a control room back here. It could get us across.” Aria smiled up at him.

Ignoring her, Garrus headed toward the room in question with his rifle loosely held in both hands. They were lucky that room was on their side of the reservoir. It could just as easily have been on the side they needed to get to. He did not relish the idea of any of them possibly falling into the rushing current below. Shepard and Aria might stand a chance at survival, he would not. Turians did not swim, there was no instinct for it ingrained in their genes.

The moment he stepped into the room ahead of the women, he noticed the console. Hacking that proved easier than he had thought it would be. A moment later, he heard the rumble and clang of something big moving.

“That's done it. Let's go!” Aria barked as she headed back out of the room.

The dam was narrow with no rails. One side was sopping with the floor grating and a ladder exposed. The other was a bucking, rushing current that caused him to swallow convulsively. He knew, so long as he lived, he was never going to get used to seeing so much water in one place.

“It's alright, Garrus...” Shepard's voice came to him quietly, just within the range of his hearing as her hand rested on his arm.

“You obviously haven't seen turians swim. It's a lot of flailing, and splashing... ...interrupted by occasional bouts of drowning.” he grumbled and continued to eye the rushing water even as his feet reached the other side.

Whatever she had been about to say was interrupted by Nyreen's voice coming over Aria's comm. “We've engaged Cerberus and cleared our first target. ETA to Gozu district is on track.”

“Excellent.” Aria replied.

Garrus glanced down at that floor grating and realized Shepard was heading for the ladder leading down to it. He grumbled something their translators could not parse and followed them down. It seemed solid enough when his boot touched down, but he could see water under it. This was absolutely not his favorite place on Omega. That must he was certain of.

“Is that my couch?” Aria asked in disbelief at the jumbled wreck of furniture before them.

Garrus found a tiny voice screaming in deep satisfaction at the idea as he stepped over to investigate. He could not control the rumble of humor that swamped his sub-harmonics and trickled into the range of their hearing. “At a guess... I'd say it is. Doesn't look like the general cares for your decorating style.”

Aria glared at him and it only served to tickle his funny bone even more. He watched for a moment as Shepard pushed the sopping material around and uncovered something. She tapped out a message on her omni-tool as she yanked the dripping case out of a recess in the arm of the couch. A moment later, she set it aside. And stepped back toward the ladder.

Shepard moved off toward the door on the far side they had been attempting to reach the moment she was up top. Garrus followed her closely. They took the short set of stairs in the room to the lower level and headed for the door leading to Central Support.

It did not open at their approach and he stepped forward. This and the sniping, those were the reasons he had refused to leave Shepard's side. Truth be told, he would not be able to live with himself if she went without him and something happened. He meant to watch her six for as long as he could. His side had been bleeding earlier, but not for the reasons Aria clearly thought. That cracked rib-plate had been digging into his hide, tearing a small gash in the meat. It hurt like hell and would bleed, but he was not about to let it stop him.

Hacking that door lock required a bit more finesse. Vortash's codes had not work so he tried Weaver's. Hers broke through the first layer of encryption. Sensat's broke the rest and the door opened. He had to catch himself here, before it went too far. That thing the humans called PTSD was starting to creep in again. He could feel it. Some part of his mind insisted that his team was waiting for him back at the base, but he knew... he _knew_ that was not true.

The second Shepard slipped through the door, they were both forced into cover. Cerberus was already here, laying in wait. Aria darted past them and took cover behind a stack of crates. She promptly fired her shotgun at the Guardian heading up the stairs with his shield held high. It did him no good. The second he staggered under the shot, Shepard threw a warp at him. It caught his exposed leg and he screamed. The others went down much the same.

There were more in the corridor as they moved down the stairs. Garrus fired his assault rifle at a couple of them before moving on. It did not take them long to come to a door labeled: Central Support. Garrus assumed that meant they were getting close to the central column Cerberus was targeting. This door was much the same as the one before. The difference was the source coding he used to unlock it. Still, it had required some encryption his previous team had left behind.

When it opened, they came face-to-face with a door leading to the Primary Ventilation System. The locking holo was missing from that door. No way in, but no way out either. At least Cerberus could not use it as an access to cause them trouble.

“Oh crap...” he breathed quietly as Shepard made her way to a shaft beside the door. When she dropped out of sight into it, he knew he had no choice but to follow her.

Stepping to the edge, he watched her slide down the ramp and regain her footing at the bottom. She glanced back up his way with a nod as she moved off toward a control panel near a grated fan. Taking a breath, he nodded and followed her. He could not say he cared for crawling, or even walking, around in Omega's ventilation ducts. Anything could go wrong in there.

“We're hitting less resistance. I think they're sending forces your way.” Came Nyreen's voice again the moment Aria joined them below.

Garrus swallowed the mild protest he was about to make in regards to Shepard jumping over the five foot gap before them. She had given him no time to voice it as she leaped across. His heart thumped against his keel at her actions.

There was a rumble that seemed to shake the entire station a split second before they hit another pocket of resistance. Garrus rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and watched tiny particles of dust drift down toward them. This was not good.

“They're messing with the support columns, Shepard! We have to stop them!” Aria barked.

There were assault troopers everywhere along with a couple of engineers. Garrus wasted no time in skidding into cover. His sniper rifle was not needed here. The range was too close. He swapped it out for his own assault rifle as he opened fire on several of the operatives. This was rapidly turning into a fight an a half. Cerberus was getting desperate to stop them. They kept coming out from behind consoles as if coming from the proverbial woodwork.

The moment they thought it was clear, an assault trooper fired on him from his place on the floor. It was the last shot he ever fired. Shepard's pistol put a hole between his eyes before she turned back toward the turian. She was looking him over before she even made it close to him.

“I'm _fine_ , Shepard.” he drawled to cover how close that shot had really been.

She nodded, but from the way her eyes narrowed, he knew she had seen the nick. That shot, uncoordinated as it had been, had grazed across his already scarred mandible and left a nick in the back of the armor over his cowl. Numb as that mandible generally was, he had barely felt the shot, but it had whipped his head to the side slightly. It was not deep enough to bleed, but it stung like hellfire. If she noticed, she said nothing. He was fairly certain she would bust him on it later, when the mission was over.


	60. Bomb Brigade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard is not at all thrilled with the prospects of Aria continuing to give orders.

“Over there! We can get to the bomb controls once the access panels are open!” Aria all but shouted.

Shepard gave Aria a withering look and headed for the access panel near the middle of the room. Garrus moved up beside her as she accessed the console. A holo grid powered up on the round dais before her and she looked it over thoughtfully. After a moment, she touched a couple of keys. The hiss of hydraulics releasing their pressure pulled her attention toward one of the columns around the room.

“What did I do?” she asked cautiously.

“Nothing. The bombs just went live! Dammit, this console is on lockdown! We'll have to manually disable the bombs.” Aria gripped her shotgun with a bitter expression.

“This mission just gets better...” Shepard grumbled half under her breath.

“That's not the best of it.” Garrus growled as he immediately took cover behind the dais. “We've got company.”

“Nothing's ever easy.” Shepard sighed as she found cover herself.

Cerberus wasted no time in bombarding them with rifle fire. There were too many places to take cover in this room and the enemy took full advantage of them. Bullets seemed to rain from every direction the moment the troops touched down.

“Take care of the bombs, Shepard.” Aria barked from her position off to the right of the console. The distinctive snap of her shotgun being reloaded seemed to echo through the room. The cold edge in her voice when she next spoke told a tale of determination. “I'll take care of Cerberus.”

“Not asking much, is she?” Garrus grumbled as he glanced toward one of the columns.

“Never does.” Shepard nodded and followed his line of sight.

There was wiring leading down the column toward the backside. _Has to be a control mechanism at the base. I just need to get there_. The thought had barely formed before she rolled from the console to the cover of a solid railing at the foot of a few steps leading up from the sunken level. She heard Garrus, his sub-harmonics issuing a faintly distressed tone at her actions, but she ignored it. Later, when they had time, she knew he would chew her out for ditching cover in the middle of a firefight. Right now, she had to get to those bombs.

Peeking over the railing, she saw a trooper coming down those stairs. Without a second thought, she reached up, grabbed the neckline of his armor and hauled him over with a yell. Less than a heartbeat later, he lay on the floor between her feet, the lens of his helmet smashed in from her omni-blade. She used the adrenaline surging through her to vault over that railing and race around behind the first column.

_There!_ She had been right. There was a control mechanism secured to the column. The commander caught a glimpse of her bondmate making his way toward the column on the far side at the same moment. She realized that had been an obvious choice. He was not going to sit there and wait for her to do all the work. It was not in his nature. Deep down to her very bones, she knew he continue forward even if he had to crawl. Her safety meant that much to him. His meant the same to her and she kicked herself again for allowing him to follow her into this mess knowing he was injured.

_No time!_ She barked at herself mentally as her eyes returned to the wiring she was working with. The fastest way to disable a bomb was to cut the wires. She just hoped she was cutting the right one as she pulled a set of wire cutters out of a pouch she had kept on her hip through this entire run.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes briefly, she pulled the wires out and looked them over. Red, blue, green, yellow and black... it could be any one of them. Taking a guess, she brought the cutters to the blue wire. Her heart slammed into her breastbone as she glanced up at the column. Quick as a blink, she switched wires and snipped through the red one. The hydraulics hissed and the unit powered down.

A faint laugh escaped her as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple. Her voice sounded relieved to her own ears when she gave a shout. “Three left!”

“Make that two!” Garrus gave a smooth roll of his sub-harmonics from the other side of the room.

Nodding to herself, Shepard took off toward the next bomb. She took down a Rampant Mech along the way and jumped over its fallen limbs. When she reached the next bomb, she was confident in which wire she needed to cut. Timing was everything here and she was nothing if not efficient in her work. It would have gone smoothly if not for the Cerberus trooper that suddenly gripped her shoulder. He jerked her upright and rammed his elbow into her middle. Her vision exploded into a field of stars at the sudden pain. The second she attempted to raise up and swing at him, he backhanded her, knocking her into the column and the ticking bomb. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth even as she ducked and ran for his middle. She tackled him with a yell and rolled over him as they went down. An instant later, she was on her feet, dropping to one knee. Her omni-blade punched through his neck with a satisfying crunch. As he lay there drowning, gurgling on his own blood, she spit a molar out at him.

“Fuck you, Cerberus!” she snarled in a half whisper as she turned back toward that bomb.

“One to go! Shepard, you got it?” came the turian's voice.

The second her cutters parted the wire, she confirmed it. “Got 'em all!”

“Clear the room!” Aria barked from her position behind the console on the lower level.

Moving around the column toward a set of stairs leading into that sunken control area, Shepard rushed toward another Cerberus trooper. She balled up a sizable amount of biotic energy and slammed her fist into him. He went flying, skidding across the grated floor on his back. The trooper was dead before he thumped against the console, his ribs virtually crushed inward. The huge dent in his chest plate told that tale loud and clear.

“Over here.” Aria called a moment later.

Glancing down at her handiwork, the commander realized this trooper had been the last of them. She stepped up toward the asari, who was facing the giant ventilation fan. “We're clear.”

“Good.” Aria nodded before touching opening her comm. “Nyreen, things are under here. What's your situation?”

“We're advancing through the Gozu district.” came the turian female's crisp voice. They could hear gunfire as she spoke. Clearly that advancement was not going easy. She barked orders at her team. “More forward! Keep that flank covered!”

“Yes, boss!” came the fainter voice of a male turian.

“We're holding our own, but Cerberus has started targeting the civilians.” there was a pause as some heavy artillery was heard through the link. “Reports of casualties are coming in from all sectors.”

Aria let out a sigh, shaking her head. “Save those you can, and head for the rendezvous point. We'll meet you there.

“We'll do what we can. Nyreen out!”

Shepard could not control the rising of her brows at the unexpected words from the asari's mouth. Clearly the woman actually did care what happened to those who lived under her rule. It was almost shocking.

Instead of mentioning it, the commander opted into the most obvious question. “So how exactly do we get to Afterlife from here?”

Aria was glaring at the ventilation fan before them before glancing her way. “I'm thinking the straight forward approach... for a change.”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Garrus murmured to Shepard's right.

Before the commander could answer, Aria had grasped her biotic energy, engulfing herself in its glow. The bluish-purple woman drew back and thrust her hand at that fan. The blast hit the fan blades with the impact of a nuke. The whole unit shorted out and began to wobble in its frame. Black smoke rose around it as they heard the sound of metal grinding on metal. It rumbled through the floor and Garrus visibly cringed. Shepard could only guess what the sound and sensations were doing to his senses.

“That's one solution.” Shepard said quietly, nodding as the smoke began to clear.

“Looks like an emergency access behind the fan blades...” Garrus noted as he moved off toward the door. He hopped over the gap effortlessly and began hacking the lock.

Shepard hid the smile at his initiative, skill and grace. That analytically curious mind was the first thing that had drawn her attention back on the SR-1. It had made him seem so much less alien to her then. In a way, she knew that was the first indication that, no matter how alien the other races were, they were still people... just like her. She could no longer imagine her life without him in it, nor did she ever want to.

Following him, she made that hop across the trench to him just as he cracked the lock. He gave her that cocksure flick of his mandibles she loved so much as he rapped his knuckles against the door. Snorting, she shook her head and gave him the crooked smile she reserved just for him before passing through the now open door.

Looking ahead, she stopped and glanced back at him. “Can you make this climb?”

Garrus looked at the ladder thoughtfully before nodding. The commander knew he would climb up after her even if it killed him. That was what worried her. She knew he would push himself to the limits of his endurance and beyond if he had to. Some of that was turian conditioning and discipline, but she knew most of it was just simply – him. Determined, stubborn to a fault, honorable, rebel without a clue Garrus would kill himself to complete a mission. More to the point, he would do it without thought to his own welfare to protect her.

With a faint shake of her head, she stepped forward and grabbed the ladder. It was a short climb to the next level. The room was loud with the spinning shaft high overhead. Another ladder faced them, roughly the same height as the last. She glanced at Garrus and he nodded quickly. The last climb apparently not too taxing.

The sounds of gunfire echoed through the room as Shepard took hold of the ladder. “Cerberus...”

“How do you know that? It could be the Talons...” Aria grumbled from behind her.

As the commander cleared the top of the ladder, a glass panel exploded and a Cerberus trooper fell through with a grunt. Shepard glanced back at the asari with a smug grin. Raising her eyebrow, she waved her pistol at the fallen man.

“Never mind.” Aria grumbled.

Garrus gave a harsh snicker that resonated through his sub-harmonics and Shepard eyed him thoughtfully as she took the stairs to the right. She was hearing more and more of those low frequencies. The vibrations of his sub-harmonics, faint rumbles that she had only felt through contact before, were more pronounced. They were just beyond her ability to understand, but she was almost certain she could detect... words?... within them. _Is that even possible?_ The thought was flooring. What might he have been saying to her, to everyone for that matter, all these years that she could not hear nor understand?

“Shoot! _Shoot!_ ” came the shouted orders of a clearly desperate Cerberus operative.

“No, _no, no!_ ” the yell of another was followed by gunshots as Shepard grabbed the frame of the next ladder.

The door above opened on a heated battle. She had expected to see the Talons fighting Cerberus. Instead, she saw Cerberus fighting adjutants. The sight chilled her to the bone.

“ _Dammit!_ ” Aria raged as she ducked down below the window looking onto the next zone. “Ahz, there are adjutants here! Track our progress and seal the doors behind us!”

“Yes, Aria.” came the salarian's voice.

Shepard headed for the opposite end of the hall as the adjutant took down the last trooper. It turned and headbutted the glass viciously before running off down the corridor.

“Spirits.....” Garrus breathed, his eyes wide and round as he stared after the beast.

Glancing back at her bondmate, Shepard thought for a moment to worry. He almost looked shell-shocked. Some part of her deep down poked and prodded at her about his PTSD and the incident shortly after they arrived. He was not ok. This war was going to have long-term affects on the rest of his life. She could not say it was not already affecting her as well. _We're a wonderful pair, aren't we_?

“We need to move.” she stepped back and lightly touched his elbow across the flex-mesh protecting the joint.

His attention snapped back to her with the sudden focus of a hawk. With a nod, he took a step forward and then another. She knew then he was going to make it through this mission, but just barely. He needed off Omega and soon.

The hallway lead to another door and that door lead out onto a catwalk. They could hear a video log running, reporting on the status of the station's civilian population. There was a body hanging over the railing, but Shepard could not tell if it was Cerberus or a mercenary. The armor was too badly burned. As she turned around a bend, she realized they had come out into the same area the adjutant had just run through. These were Cerberus beyond a doubt.

“Looks like they bit off more than they could chew.” she muttered as she came across another body, this one sporting slashes.

“Those adjutant bastards don't play games...” Garrus commented.

To another human, that comment might have sounded hollow. To Shepard it was filled with the chaotic vibrations of his sub-harmonics, just beyond understanding. The tones she recognized, however, and they told a tale of their own. Her bondmate was utterly terrified of those things, but he was keeping a tight leash on that fear.

“We should get a move on.” Aria said coldly and the commander had to wonder just how much awareness the asari had of turian sub-harmonics.


	61. Disturbing Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria has come to the conclusion that Shepard is bat-shit crazy and so is Archangel.

Aria narrowed her eyes at Archangel. She had not realized he might be mentally compromised by the war – until now. His sub-harmonics were all over the place, but dread was the strongest vibration. He was completely terrified of the adjutants. It was the same fear that radiated off Nyreen in staggering waves. She realized it must be a turian thing then. Could it be something from their culture? Maybe some archaic figure from their past or religion. She did not know and she realized, she did not really care. If he continued to freeze up like this, she would find a way to leave him behind. They were too close now. She could almost smell the booze in Afterlife.

Shepard, goddess curse her, was too curious for her own good. She was making her way down those stairs toward the broken cryo-tube and the skipping vid. Aria grumbled and rolled her eyes, but decided to follow the human anyway. She still needed the commander to finish this thing. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that; without Shepard, she would not have made it this far.

The commander stopped before the tube and looked up at the broken glass thoughtfully. Aria had to wonder if the woman had any memory of her own stay inside one of those. It had been a harrowing sight, to be sure. Even if the human did not remember, she did. Chunks of blackened meat had hung suspended in cryo-fluid roughing out the shape of a human. Bits and pieces of N7 armor had still clung to the few scraps of limbs. The helmet had barely been intact, but when Aria had gotten close enough, she had seen. Oh had she seen... Shepard's burned, more skull than flesh face still gave her nightmares. The human's dead white eyes had stared out at everything around her as if in accusation.

Aria's attention was drawn back to the present as the commander tapped a couple of keys on the console. The static in the vid log cleared and began playing in earnest. It was a sight right out of a horror vid, she realized as her attention tuned in to it.

“With the civilian population contained, we should be ready to initiate the next phase of the project – on schedule.” the scientist was saying. “Before host contagion, we should begin the process of fusing the control implants to the subjects nervous systems.”

 _Goddess... is that what they did to you? Did Cerberus turn you into some kind of monster just waiting to erupt from that human facade?_ Those were thoughts the asari did not want to entertain, not now, not while she was locked to the woman in order to complete this mission. She glanced at the turian by the human's side and felt a fleeting note of pity for him. If his bondmate suddenly flipped some proverbial switch and changed into something like the adjutants, she wondered, could he put her down? Would he? When she put herself in his boots, even for a moment, she realized she would do it in a heartbeat. It would be a mercy.

“With the current success ratio, we project being able to surpass demand by 300 percent.” the vid droned on. Shepard touched another key for the next entry. Morbid curiosity held Aria's tongue as the vid began.

“These first generation adjutants have been transferred from the containment area and are being outfitted with the implants. The previous batches have been processed and moved to the storage area.” Shepard keyed up the last entry, eyes focused on the screen. “We can now control when and where the adjutants convert their victims. Initial testing on various species provides ample proof that the virus can adapt flawlessly regardless of the host used.”

“Those idiots were experimenting on adjutants.” Aria breathed.

“'Those idiots'... were _creating_ adjutants.” Archangel glared at her briefly before turning a hard gaze back toward the cry-tube. “But I guess you didn't catch that part.”

Aria heard the ultra low rumbling snarl that ripped through his sub-harmonics as he stared at that tube. Though it was more a wordless howl, she understood its meaning just as easily as if he had spoken; fear and anger.. fear for his mate and what Cerberus might have done to her; anger that he was powerless to do anything about it.

“And implanting them with control chips...” Shepard murmured darkly before yanking her pistol from its holster. “That explains the ones we saw earlier. Let's go.”

Around to the left of the tube was another door leading to yet another hallway. Aria noted the door at the end was still locked. She glanced behind her at the turian just stepping through the door they had come through. “Extra security. The doors only open one at a time.

“Makes sense... considering what they had locked up here.” Shepard grumbled.

“Leave it to Cerberus to screw around with things they don't understand.” Archangel all but snarled as he cleared the doorway. The tone of his voice even drew Shepard's attention toward him with narrowed eyes.

The second the door closed behind the turian, the lock released on the one before them. Aria could not wait to be out of this place. It smelled wrong somehow. “The door's unlocked. Let's get out of here.”

“I couldn't agree more.” Archangel rumbled from behind her.

As they moved through the next door, Aria pointed toward the window and the combat raging on the other side. Her interest was not the Cerberus troopers, however. “There... that doorway leads to the Gozu district.”

“And that's where we're heading.” Shepard nodded with a matter of fact tone.

The second Shepard opened the door just down the hall, Archangel grabbed her. He put himself between her and the coming blast from the rocket that hit the railing from the Atlas on the lower level. The human that had been running for the door, screaming at them to 'look out' was thrown through. He landed at her feet with a smoldering hole in his back.

Archangel's frame shuddered as his armor took some of the blast that washed past them. He had danced sideways and pressed the commander against the inner door frame. Aria reached out wordlessly and put the small flaming patch on his forearm out as she passed him for cover. He rewarded her with a flick of his mandible before his icy blue eyes locked on the human in his arms again.

Aria did not see or hear how that went down. She simply pressed herself into the cover of the plated railing before the Atlas could fire again. A moment later the commander and her bondmate joined her. Crazy as she clearly was, Shepard vaulted over the railing and raced toward the Atlas, much to her bondmate's dismay. The asari's eyes widened. The woman had been gathering biotic energy with each step. Now she released it with a yell as she rammed her fist toward the ground beneath the mech's feet. It staggered...

“ _Goddess_...” Aria gasped. The second she had a clear shot, she fired on the Atlas. “How do you live with that....?”

“One battle at a time...” Archangel answered as he took careful aim at the pilot behind the glass canopy. With a slight fluttering of his mandibles, he fired. “It's... um... she keeps life... _interesting_.”

The glass shattered with his next shot, but he did not get the chance to fire again. Shepard had climbed the mech and was hauling its pilot out of his seat. The second the man was out, and clearly dead, the human threw herself into his seat. A moment later the mech swiveled around toward the rest of the Cerberus troopers in the area.

“That's my girl! Rain hell down on those bastards!” Archangel let out the most evil laugh Aria thought she might have ever heard from a turian.

“You're just as crazy as she is...” Aria said in a low voice as she moved a few inches further away from him.

His right eye found hers with a flick of that mandible and Aria looked away quickly. She could not help but notice the red tint within the pupil, the faint glow that indicated a cybernetic eye. _So the rumors are true. Tarak did blow half your head off... and you're still breathing_. The asari cringed at the thought and focused on the task at hand.

The second the last trooper fell, Shepard dropped out of the Atlas. She gave a hand signal, waving her arm forward. “It's clear! Let's go!”

Shepard did not wait for them, she ran for the ladder leading up and out of the room. She was up it before they reached its foot. Aria grabbed the ladder and began to climb. Archangel did not bother with it. He hunkered down and launched himself at the ledge beside it. His hands caught with a clang and he pulled himself up easily.

“Now you're just showing off.” Aria grumbled at him as she came up to his level and passed him.

“Hmm... there's a reason I survived on this station so long.” he hummed and joined his mate as she worked her way around to the next door. Wordlessly, he stepped in and immediately started hacking the door lock.

Aria was glaring at him, shaking her head with her mouth slightly open when Shepard glanced back at her. The human smiled faintly, but it did not reach her eyes. “You get used to it.”

“I doubt that.” the asari grumbled and waited for them to get through the door.

The door opened on another ladder and as Shepard stepped up to it, she nodded. “This looks familiar.”

“I liked it better when Mordin Solus was here shooting up the looters.” Aria half purred. It was true. She had known he was 'retired' STG the moment he appeared on her station. Even though she had concerns about that status, she had allowed him to remain.

“Mordin is dead.” Shepard snapped.

“A pity... _if_ it were true. He's a very practical kind of salarian.” Aria said with a casual smile. “Though he was always a bit... adventurous... between the sheets.”

Shepard's eyes widened at the comment and Archangel issued a strangled cough. Aria simply smiled and tilted her head toward them both before taking point. _Let them chew on that for a moment_.

“ _Spirits_...” Archangel finally sucked in a breath.

“He died curing....” Shepard began.

“The genophage, yes... I know the _story_.” she emphasized the last word.

“Then you know why.” Shepard grumbled.

“Yes. Your secret is safe, Shepard.” Aria said and continued with a nod as she glanced down at her gun. A moment later, she admitted something she thought she never would. “I miss seeing him buzz around Omega like he owns the place.”


	62. Gozu Outpost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is hoping he misunderstood Aria in regards to Mordin. Maybe he's just high on medi-gel. He hopes so, because he just can't stomach those images.

Garrus eyed Aria wearily after her last couple of comments. The thought of her actually missing Mordin far outweighed the idea of her taking the salarian to her bed. His curious mind betrayed him and wondered if it were true. He cringed at the very idea and shook his head to dispel the unwanted images. Following Shepard through a doorway, he began to wonder if he was high on medi-gel. _Is that even possible? Spirits, please let it be the medi-gel. When I come down, it'll just be a drug induced nightmare... Yeah, that's it. Maybe I misunderstood her. I just can't... oh... yuck.... oh... I really didn't need that image, thanks.._.

Glancing around, he realized they had entered the living quarters of the clinic. He could not remember ever having seen this section before. It was clear of personal items. Actually, it was clear of everything, or so he had thought before Shepard b-lined toward an empty shelving unit. She squatted down and grabbed something that just barely glinted in the light.

“Huh...” Shepard grunted as she held the object up. Her eyes found his and she smiled before offering him what she had found.

Garrus could not control the widening of his mandibles as he took the weapon and looked it over. He had envied Kirrahe on Sur'Kesh when the salarian had whipped the pistol out and blown away half of Cerberus with it. He turned it over and saw a name etched into one side; Archangel. His eyes widened and he glanced at Shepard again.

Her smile grew a little as she handed him the data pad she had found with it. He read it over quickly. It was clearly in Mordin's buzzing, half-spoken thoughts.

_Mean to give weapon to Archangel. Next visit shouldn't be long. Turian reckless, stubborn, somewhat aggressive... much like krogan. Leads to injury. Will be back soon. Birthday coming soon, will appreciate new 'toy'._

“How...? He knew?” Garrus stammered.

Shepard hummed an 'I don't know' with a shrug as she stood. A moment later she was heading between the shelving units to climb up to the next section. He tucked the Scorpion away and followed her. 'New toy', that was what Mordin had called it. Garrus could not wait to reap destruction on Cerberus with it. It was shocking that the salarian had etched his codename into it. More shocking was the idea that he knew him well enough even a year ago to have guessed he would be impressed by that particular weapon.

The interior of the clinic was hauntingly bare, empty of patients and staff alike. Most of the medical supplies had been cleaned out as well. Garrus was fairly certain that was due to looters. Nothing on Omega was safe from them, not even his base. He could not recall all the times he and his team had returned to find some scavenger or another attempting to loot their stash of supplies. Keeping them at bay had almost become a second job.

He caught himself slipping there for a moment, wondering what Sidonis might have scrounged up for dinner tonight. Being the only two dextros in the group made meal times rather interesting. _Spirits! Don't go there again!_ The thought of the turian he had called 'friend' for almost two years sent a white-hot spike of anger surging through him. The man was dead, he knew that, but that knowledge had not extinguished the ragged pain over the loss of his team. Sidonis had paid for what he had done, in a round-about kind of way. He knew that. Lilfrey had carried out orders from the primarch himself.

As they stepped out into one of the main avenues of the Gozu district, they were faced with another wrecked escape pod. A small fire was burning unchecked near it. Shepard must have noticed the two digital 'wanted posters' on the wall before them. She moved in for a closer look.

Aria grumbled something under her breath as she too saw them. An image of the asari and Nyreen were plastered on those displays. Garrus guessed the reason for Aria's sour expression was the fact that Nyreen had made the top of the most wanted list. She was only the second most wanted.

The next door brought them face-to-face with a gun turret and Shepard yelped as she dodged back behind the door frame. Garrus wasted barely a heartbeat before pulling the 'new toy' out and firing a couple of rounds at that turret. A high pitched tone issued from the disks mere seconds before they exploded, taking the turret with them.

Glancing at the gun, his sub-harmonics issued a satisfied trill. “I love this gun.”

“Uh-huh.” Shepard smiled at him before slinging a warp out at one of the Guardians baring down on them.

She slipped out of cover and tucked herself against what might have been a generator before tossing a shockwave out at the Guardians. The second they staggered, their shields shifted. Aria fired her shotgun at one of them and Garrus tagged the other with a clean hit from the Scorpion. Three heartbeats later, the Guardian exploded in a crimson rain of gore. His companion screamed, bone fragments sticking out of the flex-mesh covering his neck. A moment later, he went down as well.

“We're almost there!” Aria growled and half ran for the door at the other end of the corridor.

“Spirits... this place is a mess.” Garrus noted as he moved into the corridor and looked around.

The Gozu district was barely recognizable with the damage done by both Cerberus and the escape pods. It was going to take a hell of a clean-up crew to set it right again. Years of reconstruction and repair, then it might still never look the same. He could only hope there were improvements made along the way.

Most of the corridors leading out into the rest of the district were blocked by crates of Cerberus tech or fires. There was really only one way they could go, he realized when the door Aria ran to did not open. It simply shorted out.

“Over here...” Shepard called from a set of stairs he had nearly forgotten were there.

Half jogging, half limping up them, he stepped up to the door and began hacking the lock. When the codes his team had set in place failed, he tried a fire emergency code Mordin had once slipped him. That successfully bypassed the door. It opened to a turian and a krogan glaring at him, guns pointed at his chest.

“Friendlies incoming.” the turian stated, glancing at his krogan companion and they both lowered their assault rifles. “Nyreen is waiting for you in the markets.”

Letting out a quiet breath, Garrus glanced at his bondmate with a nod. She slipped through the door, Aria close on her heels and he brought up the rear. They had clearly reached one of Nyreen's outposts. There was a triage area set up to their left, but he ignored it. Unless Shepard ordered him in there to be looked over, he meant to avoid Nyreen's medics like the plague.

The moment he had been dreading came when Shepard veered into the triage ward. She stopped and turn to look up at him. Even in her armor, she looked small and yet... somehow... intimidating as hell. He flinched ever so slightly when her hand touched his scarred mandible and he knew then. The turian knew that she was aware of the hit he had taken earlier. The mandible still stung.

“I... need you... to sit this one out. You need to stay here.” Shepard said slowly. It clearly pained her to make that request.

Garrus shook his head slightly and took her hand firmly. “Shepard...”

“It's too much. Your injuries...”

“Are not fatal. I'm _fine_ , Shepard.” he drawled, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. His sub-harmonics were another thing, but he knew she could not hear them.

“Garrus....”

He cut her off again, refusing to hear this. “No.”

“Don't make this an order, Vakarian.” she growled at him, her cheeks turned a faint splotchy pink.

“No, Shepard.” his voice had dipped a little lower than it usually did with her in something more than anger. He knew there was desperation in his tones and he did not care. “Don't... just don't... you need me at your six.”

“ _I need you_ _ **alive**_ _, dammit!_ ” the dam nearly broke on that ragged snarl from her. She reigned in her emotions quickly with a shallow breath. “You're staying here, that's an order.”

“No. Write me up for insubordination, I don't give a damn... but you're not going out there alone.” he leaned down and pointed vaguely toward the wall. Locking eyes with her, his voice was very nearly a growl.

“I won't be alone.” she tried again quietly.

“ _Riiiight_... because Aria is so _very_ trustworthy.” he snarled and leaned back, voice and sub-harmonics dripping sarcasm. “You'll have to shoot me to make me stay here.”

“I...” there was a stricken look on her face.

“I'll pull rank. You know I 'technically' outrank you.” he gave her a flick of his mandibles at that.

“ _Fine!_ Just don't do anything _stupid_...” she snapped and turned to walk out of the triage ward. Her next words were barely louder than a whispering breath, but he heard them. “...like getting yourself killed.”

It was a small victory, but it did not feel like one. It left a sour taste in his mouth. He knew, if they made it back to the Normandy, he was in for it. His mate was going to tear him a new asshole over this. He would gladly accept her fury if it meant keeping her alive now.

As they moved through the place, they heard the crazy batarian that always preached 'the end is nigh'. Half the station had labeled him the 'Mad Prophet', while the other half just avoided him during Archangel's stay here. Garrus had stared him down once. That was more than enough for him. Something about that batarian just sent a cold chill racing up his spine.

“Oh... _god_.... of course he's still here.” Shepard grumbled under her breath.

“ _And_.... he's got a bigger following...” Garrus sighed as they slipped through another door and came face-to-face with the man himself, along with a large crowd.

The batarian ceased his preaching to stare at them. He raised his arm dramatically and pointed directly at Shepard. “ _You_... you are the reason the universe turns against us all! _You are the blight that will destroy us!_ ”

Garrus heard her take a shuddering breath and put a hand on her shoulder. “We should go. He's crazy...”

“Right.” was all she said as she moved off toward the left and the door at the end of the corridor.

The sounds of gunfire came from the small group behind the barricade. The turian before the blocked door motioned them onward. “We got this covered. Go!”

Garrus nodded to him. He thought he knew the Talons member, but he was not absolutely certain. They took another left and headed for an unblocked door a few yards away. A krogan stood guard here and nodded to them as he keyed the door open to allow them passage into the elevator.

“Nyreen here. Something's not right.” came the turian's voice over Aria's comm.

“Cerberus is still on my station. _Of course_ something's not right!” Aria snapped irritably.

“Not what I was talking about. I'm checking this out. Going radio silent.” Nyreen said calmly.

Sub-harmonics were nigh on impossible to hear properly through the radio waves, but Garrus was sure he heard caution and maybe a little fear in hers. Fear, in an assassin's voice? He knew there was only one thing on this station that could inspire that; adjutants. _Spirits... that last one... it was turian once. Worse than the Marauders. Can't imagine the hell he was in... if he was aware... Sweet spirits, I hope he wasn't_.

“What the hell is she doing?” Aria growled softly. It was clear from the tone of her voice that she was beginning to worry.

The second the elevator stopped, Aria headed for the door. Shepard paced at her side as the turian guard stopped before them. He looked them over for a second before locking gazes with the commander.

“Where's Nyreen?” Shepard asked, but they all knew the turian was likely not there.

“Scouting ahead. We've got our hands full, holding this area.” he nodded back toward the others in his team.

“ _Dammit!_ She's going on to Afterlife!” Aria gasped raggedly, real worry in her voice, her eyes and every line of her frame.

The asari was like a coiled spring that had just slipped free of its tether. She took off running faster than Garrus had thought she could. Shepard charged after her and left him no choice but to chase them.


	63. Bait and Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilfrey and Nana have been tailing Nyreen through the Gozu district. They have a plan, but Nyreen is determined to blow it up.

Lilfrey had been tailing Nyreen for some time now. The woman was thorough, she would give her that. She was a good assassin, with a vast arsenal of skills, but she was not Cabal trained. That was not to say she was sloppy, but it did mean she knew next to nothing about using her biotics to augment her stealth movements.

Glancing ahead at Nana, she wondered where the elder asari had the energy to track through the station's rafters. She had kept up easily with Lilfrey through the entire district. At some points, the asari had even gotten ahead of her and silently directed her along Nyreen's path. Those instants were few and far in between, however. It only occurred when the other turian had deviated farther than expected.

There were advantages to Lilfrey's training and she employed them now. She followed Nyreen through the corridors of the Gozu district, keeping track of Nana along the way as well. Nyreen slid to a halt and Lilfrey's head snapped up the moment they both heard the screams of the adjutants. Nana froze and searched the area ahead of them before glancing back at Lilfrey. They both made it a point to stay out of the woman's sight when she climbed up into the ceiling beams. Following in the shadows on the other side of the corridor, her attention was drawn to the massacre about to happen on the steps of Afterlife.

Cerberus, Talons and civilians all turned their weapons on the mutated monsters that came through the door. Their conflict was put on hold in the face of such danger. The adjutants advanced no matter how many rounds were fired at them. Sadly, most of those rounds were missing their mark.

Lilfrey cringed when an adjutant jumped on one unlucky batarian and began tearing him to shreds. Her attention snapped back to Nyreen as the other woman dropped to the floor and began firing on one of the beasts. _Crazy, you're crazy.._.

The adjutant turned toward her, clearly annoyed by the shots she was firing into it. Three more flanked her, coming through the doo behind her. She lowered her gun, looking for a way out of the mess she found herself in. A moment later, she reached down and grabbed a belt of grenades barely clinging to a dead Cerberus trooper. She flung it out toward the middle of the floor and tossed the cord that had held the pins aside.

Lilfrey's eyes widened as the woman took two steps toward that belt and waited. The adjutants were advancing. She knew what must be going through her mind and dropped to the floor herself. At the same instant Nyreen tossed up her biotic barrier, Lilfrey was gathering her own biotic energy and racing toward the woman.

Nana had already dropped and was running in the shadows toward the dividing railing between market and residential doorways. It was then that she saw Aria, Shepard and Garrus come charging out of the door the adjutants had just come through. The look on the asari's face was one of desperate fear. This was clearly not going to end well, not unless she and Nana managed to pull of a miracle. Nyreen looked up, locked eyes with the asari and nodded faintly with a flick of a mandible.

Seconds. Time slowed down to a crawl. Lilfrey thought she could have counted the scales on Aria's face. Seconds. She saw the twitch of her scalp tentacles between the tiny droplets of sweat that were flying off Aria as they both ran. Seconds. Aria ran desperately toward Nyreen. Seconds, that was all Lilfrey had, all Nana had and all Nyreen had. It was down to seconds.

From one second to the next, Lilfrey sprang into action. It took every ounce of skill she had to zero in on one target through another's biotic field. Nana signaled a split second before she threw her own biotic field out toward Nyreen. It disrupted Nyreen's weaker field, virtually replacing it with a nearly undetectable flicker. Within the same heartbeat, Lilfrey relied on her experience with Nana's biotics to 'reach through' her field and latch onto the turian woman within. Her pull was strong, but not nearly as strong as Shepard's. She growled with the effort and yanked Nyreen clear barely a millisecond before the blast dissolved the field and everything within it. They both landed in the alcove between the market and residential doorways with a collective grunt. The blast and biotic dispersion were the sole focus of those running toward it. The angle of her pull was hidden by the chaos. The others had not seen Nyreen's sudden 'exit'.

Aria stopped before the scorched patch of floor plating with a gasp and an expression that screamed of intense grief. Nyreen tried to extricate herself from Lilfrey's grasp only to find that grip tighten with a hiss.

“ _No!_ Let them _believe_ you are dead. It will fuel her desire to retake the station.” Lilfrey snapped quietly near her ear pore.

“She'll _kill_ herself to do it. She won't care if she thinks I'm _dead_.” Nyreen growled and struggled for a moment.

“Do you love her?” Lilfrey pinned the other turian woman against the wall.

“ _What?_ ” Nyreen asked in shock, the fight leaving her for a moment.

Nana stepped into the shadows beside them and glared at Nyreen. “ _Answer_ the question, girl!”

Lilfrey took advantage of the momentary lapse in the other's attention and changed her grip. She repeated the question firmly. “ _Do... you..._ _ **love**_ _Aria?_ ”

Nyreen looked between them then. She blinked a couple of times before squeezing her eyes shut with a shuddering sigh. Her answer was a simple one. “Yes....”

“Then let my daughter seek revenge.” Nana said coldly.

“Her anger and grief will fuel her hatred of Petrovsky. She will liberate this station out of a thirst for vengeance.” Lilfrey growled as she held her in place.

“And it will be successful. She wants her position back, but just wanting it... it's not enough for _that_ girl.” Nana shook her head.

“It never was. She's gone apathetic sitting on her throne all these years.” Lilfrey relaxed her grip when the woman sagged against the wall. Nodding in complete agreement with Nana, she directed her next statement to Nyreen. “This may well be the key to gaining what _you_ desire.”

“And more, if you play your cards right, child. When this is over... reveal yourself. You'll find her more amenable to working toward your suggestions with the civilians.” Nana pushed the point harder.

“How can you be sure of that?” Nyreen growled faintly, but remained where she was.

“I'm Natearus T'Loak... that girl rushing half-cocked into Afterlife... that's my daughter. I know her better than she knows herself.” Nana growled as she stood a little straighter.

“Alright. Where should I go?” Nyreen relented in defeat.

“Go back to one of your outposts. Maintain radio silence, but help those you can. That should pass the time more easily.” Lilfrey suggested. It was more an order, in reality. By the way Nyreen locked eyes with her, narrowing her own, she knew the other turian woman recognized it as such.

The moment Lilfrey stepped aside and released Nyreen, the other glared at her. After a couple of heartbeats, she nodded with a ragged sigh and stepped into a run toward the residential district. Nana and Lilfrey watched her go for a moment.

“You think she'll stay out of sight until this is over?” Lilfrey asked quietly, eyes still locked on Nyreen as she slipped through the door.

“Won't matter much either way. Aria's already in a full-blown rage now. That's all we really needed, child.” Nana said tiredly.

“Do you really think they'll succeed?” she asked as they began walking toward the door leading into the market proper.

“ _Goddess_... I hope so.” was all Nana said as they slipped through the door.

Lilfrey eyed her and let out a resigned breath. They were headed toward the 'secret' club and the entrance into Afterlife behind it. With a little luck and the right timing, they might just be able to sway the outcome of the coming battle in Shepard's favor.


	64. Afterlife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aria is in a blind rage over the loss of Nyreen. She wants Petrovsky's blood and she means to have it.

Aria staggered to a stop before that smoldering section of flooring where Nyreen had stood only seconds ago. Rage and grief were rapidly consuming her rational mind. _Oh, Goddess, but it hurts! I never thought it would hurt this much_. She moved around the edges of the round burning section looking for... something. The asari was not quite sure what.

A ragged breath bordering on a sob escaped her and her eyes leveled on Afterlife's door. Her fists clenched at her sides and began glowing, unbidden, with biotic energy. Her voice, when it came was a raw growl of hatred. “That's it! Tell your boss, I'm coming for him!”

Her feet had barely hit the first step before she had thrust a powerful blast of biotic energy at the door. It buckled inward, ripping completely out of the pockets in the wall before her fury. She did not notice Shepard charging in behind her. The asari would not have cared if she had.

“ _Enough! I will kill you all!_ ” she raged at the Cerberus troopers lining the hallway as she hunkered down and sent a biotic blast out around herself. She was virtually levitating when it cleared around her.

The moment she noticed Shepard coming up beside her, she stormed toward the interior door to Afterlife. Her voice was rough, the words ragged as she squeezed her eyes shut for an instant. In that moment, she did not care who saw the grief written all over her face. _Let them look and let them all pay for causing it!_ “Petrovsky, you die! _Now!_ ”

Shepard scanned the door lock with her omni-tool and shook her head. She glanced up at Archangel stepping up behind her. The flick of his mandibles in an ironic smile was not quite lost on Aria. The asari had not heard the entire conversation between him and his mate, but she had heard enough. She glared at the door as if she could bore a hole straight through it with her eyes as he hacked the lock wordlessly. The truth was, she would need a few minutes to recover from that last blast.

It seemed to take an eternity for Archangel to crack that lock. The moment it released and the door slid open, she jogged inside. Hot stabs of rage coursed through her at the changes she saw. Cerberus... their logos, their décor, their... everything... littered Afterlife from top to bottom. It was an abomination in her eyes. Movement on the balcony above drew her attention and her eyes narrowed dangerously at the human stopping before the railing up there.

“Nyreen Kandros was a good soldier. It's a shame she had to die for your petty ambitions.” Petrovsky drawled.

Aria could not contain her rage and grief. It welled up within her white-hot and all consuming. It enveloped her in biotic fury as she stepped into a run toward him. “ _You're a dead man!_ ”

“ _No!_ Wait!” Shepard barked behind her, but she was already stepping up onto the bar and the projector below that balcony.

Taking a leap toward the railing, she was captured in a surge of energy. Small bots of some kind snapped around her and shackled her hand and foot before the man. It happened so fast, she was barely aware of the surge of pain that tore through her when she tried to blast her way out of it.

“What now, Petrovsky?” Shepard growled at the man a moment later.

“Divide and conquer, Commander.” Petrovsky purred at first before shifting and glaring at the woman. “Kandros killed the adjutants we hadn't finished experimenting on... These, however, are fully under our control – prototypes for our future army.”

Aria's breath caught when she saw the beasts heading toward her from the lower level. She was not sure if they could reach her or not... until one of them leaped every bit of ten feet toward her. It landed at the bottom ring of what had once been the circular bar. By the look of it, she thought this one might once have been turian. The one behind it had tentacles draped across its head that reminded her of one of her own people. She struggled to break the hold of her prison to no avail.

“Shepard.” she called. “A little help here?”

“Keep Shepard away from those generators!” Petrovsky ordered the troopers that entered the lower level.

Aria watched helplessly as Shepard and Archangel split and headed to either side of the dais. Shepard took on a couple of the troopers with her pistol. She could see the ware and tear on the human now that she was really looking. Her biotics were nearly exhausted and her amp must have been fried. She relied on her weapons and hand-to-hand combat skills more and more. The blue light of the energy field surrounding the asari made the human look as if her eyes were hollowed out sharply. She wondered how much of that corpse-like appearance was the truth of her nature now.

“Crap!” Archangel barked an instant after Shepard took down two troopers.

One of the adjutants was stalking the turian. Aria just caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye. It jumped at him just as Archangel ran at it. The second it's feet left the ground, he dropped and slid under it. The move cost him by the flutter of his mandibles and the open-mouth pant when he rolled to his feet. His combat knife danced over his hand for a few seconds before he threw it with a grunt. It embedded itself in the back of the adjutant's head.

Shepard disappeared up onto the second level. She assumed the human was heading for one of those generators Petrovsky had mentioned. Flexing with a grunt, she fought the urge to vomit. She hated feeling helpless. The pain the machine was causing her was more draining than anything else. _Goddess, let Shepard release me so I can rip the general's throat out with my bare hands!_ The restraint was only serving to fuel her rage all the more. She would grieve later, in private, but the moment she was free... she meant to bathe her hands in his blood... for Nyreen.

“One down!” Shepard shouted just as Aria felt a fraction less strain on her right leg.

“Three to go! I'm on this one, Shepard!” Archangel shouted back the moment the adjutant fell.

Aria barely saw him snatch his combat knife from its carcass before he too disappeared up to the next level. She saw Shepard take off like a shot near the railing before her. The human was good, she would give her that. If things were different, she might have challenged Archangel for his mate.

_Nyreen.._... it was a ragged gasp as she struggled against the energy field restraining her. There would be no one else to truly reach her heart for a long time. She knew that to her core. It might take her a couple of centuries to get over that turian. Realistically, she knew she might never get over her. While she had been alive, Aria had always entertained the hope that she and Nyreen might one day get back together. Petrovsky and Cerberus had taken that from her.

“ _I'm going to bathe in your blood, Petrovsky!_ ” Aria raged as she looked around as much of the upper level as she could see. She did not see him.

Aria's eyes snapped back toward Shepard when she heard the human grunt. She had taken an electrical jolt from an overloaded shield generator. The asari was impressed when Shepard shook it off and kept moving. Few humans could withstand that kind of trauma and remain conscious. She supposed it had to be those Cerberus cybernetics augmenting the commander's system.

“Two down!” Archangel shouted from somewhere behind her.

“Two to go!” Shepard shouted back as she disappeared behind another column.

Aria felt less strain on her left arm an instant before Archangel's shout. She smiled coldly up at that balcony. _Just two more generators, two tethers and I'm free. You'll bleed, Petrovsky. I'll kill you slowly for your hand in Nyreen's death_.

There was a pained intake of breath from the balcony where Shepard had disappeared. Bullets were flying everywhere from the troopers that just seemed to keep coming. The human ran out of cover with a yell and hit two troopers with a blast even Aria would have been proud of. Shepard was moving slower, however. Favoring her side where that sword had pierced her armor. She thought a stray bullet might have found its way in at that point. The thought chilled her. If the woman collapsed before... it did not bare thinking.

Aria gasped and struggled harder against her bonds when she saw the adjutant step out of a doorway behind the human. “ _Shepard!_ Behind you!”

The woman turned just as the glowing brute leaped at her. Somehow she managed to block the slash of its talons with a battered piece of metal she had snatched up at the last second. Aria realized it must be part of that shield generator she had all but destroyed only a moment ago. There was a momentary power struggle between the human and the adjutant. The asari could not say who was winning.

Shepard's face dissolved into a sneer of hate and she was enveloped in biotic energy. A heartbeat later, she took a page from Aria's own book. The blast was nearly blinding, forcing Aria to squint and turn her face away slightly. It was like a mini nuclear explosion and the asari knew then that Cerberus had done so much more to Shepard than met the eye. The adjutant virtually exploded and rained down everywhere in the corona of that blast. The woman was ruthless in her attacks on the remaining troopers that poured her way. Glowing first pounding, shockwaves, warps... anything she could throw at them in rapid succession.

Aria saw the trail of blood tracking down the woman's upper lip before she disappeared toward one of the doors above. She knew then Shepard's amp was fried. The human was running on raw biotics now and they were mindbogglingly strong.

“I... _refuse_... to _die_... on this _shit-hole_ station!” Archangel bellowed as Aria heard the rattle of an assault rifle behind her.

“This is _my_ station, thank you very much, _Archangel_!” Aria snarled and struggled against the energy field.

“And you can have it!” he snarled back with a grunt.

Aria's attention snapped back toward the door Shepard had been heading toward when she heard the pair of adjutants snarling. “Get me out of this thing so I can help!”

“A little busy here, Aria!” Shepard snapped as she swung her omni-blade at one adjutant that had come into view. She backed toward the railing in an effort to avoid the creature's talons. Her back hit it and the second adjutant she clearly had not seen lunged at her.

“ _Shepard!_ ” it was a ragged cry of distress from Archangel all across the sound spectrum when the commander went over that railing backwards.

Aria heard his feet thumping across the floor plating as he ran around the dais. The adjutant had not moved from where it had fallen on top of the woman. Archangel's sub-harmonics were practically screaming shock, bordering on grief when he reached the place his mate had fallen. The asari wondered vaguely if he would take up his mate's cause should she fall in battle. Looking at him, at his posture, the grief, the rage... she thought he might. They were the same, she realized, on more levels than she had ever cared to examine. The turian could have been her own mirror image in those moments.

There was a distinctly human groan the second Archangel reached for the adjutant. It shifted and he pulled his hand back cautiously. The carcass rolled to the side, Shepard's omni-blade snapped off in its chest and the human took a deep breath, her head dropping to the floor plates beneath her in obvious exhaustion.

Aria almost smiled at just how tough this human was. Archangel did smile, his mandibles flaring wide an instant before another trooper dropped down from above. With a snarl, he turned and swiped at the man with an ungloved hand. _When did he take his gloves off?_ Aria frowned at him, she had not realized he would resort to that kind of brutality. His reaction the first time she had seen him take down a human had been decidedly violent. It had taken maintenance weeks to clean the contents of his stomach out of the grating of that corridor.

The instant the man dropped, pouring blood everywhere, Archangel turned and offered Shepard his clean hand. She took it and he yanked her to her feet. He turned and fired on one of the 'arms' emitting the energy field holding the asari. It jolted the field when it disintegrated.

Aria frowned when the pair parted again, one in either direction. There were two more generators to take down. She knew that was where they were headed, but she had thought they might go together. It made sense to split up, but Cerberus was relentless, Petrovsky determined to win this match of wills.

“Three down!” Shepard shouted less than a minute after disappearing behind a column.

“One to go!” Archangel answered.

The second the third generator went down, Aria realized she had more control over her biotics. She let out a yell and a surge of biotic energy at their enemies. “ _Enough!_ ”

“ _Dammit!_ ” the turian roared as the adjutant that ran up on him took a swing at him. It connected and rocked him backward, slamming him into the column he had been backing toward.

Aria saw three thin trails of blue blood running down the ruined side of his neck as he staggered away from the abomination. He moved quickly, vaulting over a divide that had once had a couch tucked against it. His assault rifle beeped with an overheated heat sync and he resorted to hitting the adjutant with the weapon.

“Watch its talons, Archangel!” Aria yelled, hoping he would hear her over the growls and snarls.

“ _No shit!_ ” he growled in her direction as the creature swung on him again.

Aria's tattooed brow went up nearly to her scalp at the words. She had never heard this particular turian swear so much. It almost drew a laugh from her, almost.

“Shepard! Last one's on the dais!” Archangel shouted to his bondmate. The adjutant he had been fighting slumped to the floor, the barrel of his assault rifle protruding from its back.

_Damn, he's stronger than I ever gave him credit for_. Aria's eyes were wide and round as he limped down the stairs toward her and the generator in question. She looked him over critically then and realized he was much more muscular than the average turian. _What's the term the humans use? Built like a brick shit-house? Yes, that's it. Goddess... I should have sampled that when I had the chance._

Shepard was heading her way with a determined look etched into her features. Her fists were glowing and her nose clearly bleeding. With a yell, she brought her fists down on the unit between them. The nova of biotic energy released was some of the most powerful Aria had ever felt wash over her. The second the generator disintegrated beneath the commander's hands, she was freed.

“ _Omega's mine!_ ” Aria raged as she dropped to the dais. “I'm back, fuckers!”


	65. Ruthless Calculus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus understands now, sometimes things aren't always 'black and white'. He's learning to roll with those shades of gray.

There was barely enough time for thought as wave after wave of Cerberus troopers poured into Afterlife. Garrus threw everything he had left at them. His ammo was practically spent, heat syncs fried and he was exhausted. Much more of this and he was going to drop. Cerberus would kill him and walk over his corpse to murder his mate. That thought was what drove him onward. He was not about to let them kill her.

Staggering up the steps, he thrust his combat knife into the back of the neck of a trooper who had not noticed him. It was a cold vicious action and his mandibles drew in close to his face as he yanked the blade back out in a spray of crimson. He no longer cared. The ruined scar tissue across the right side of his neck was on fire. The adjutant had attempted to slit his throat with its talons. If he had not dodged backward a fraction, he would not now been continuing this fight.

The second the last adjutant fell beneath Shepard's biotic onslaught, Petrovsky's voice came over the system wide comm. “Attention all Cerberus forces: surrender!”

Aria had disappeared from sight only moments before the announcement came. Garrus was willing to bet he knew exactly where she was. A faint flicker of his mandibles gave away how he felt about that. As far as he was concerned, Aria could have that bastard. He had indirectly killed a good soldier. Many good soldier and who knew how many civilians. It was time to end this.

Garrus limped after Shepard and realized they must look like a pair of ancient crones the way they were moving. She was favoring her left side, where the assassin's blade had cut so deeply into her armor. That worried him and he wondered if there was some injury there that he had not seen.

The moment they stopped before the door leading to Arias old 'throne', Shepard tapped it. It did not open. Garrus grumbled faintly and stepped forward to hack the lock. Clearly Aria had locked it down behind her the moment she had entered. He wondered exactly what they would find on the other side.

The second the door opened under his skilled hands, he saw Aria standing there with a gun pointed at the general's face. The man's attention snapped toward them with an almost relieved expression. He started to take a step and thought better of it.

“Commander Shepard, I surrender myself into your custody.” he said calmly.

Aria lowered her gun and stepped right up in his face, her finger waving at him. “That is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard.”

Before he or Shepard could react, Aria backhanded him, her hand glowing with biotic power. He hit the floor hard and sat there for a moment, stunned. His eyes locked to Shepard's the moment the dazed look cleared from his face.

“Shepard, I'm unarmed... and I can give the Alliance intel on the Illusive Man's plans.” he was trying to get to his feet when Aria reached down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him the rest of the way.

Aria slammed him down on the console and held him there choking. Her voice was a snarl as she wrapped both her hands around his throat. “You'll say anything to save your skin!”

“I let you escape Omega... I deserve... mercy.” Petrovsky gasped out.

“Is this true, Aria?” Shepard asked, her eyes glaring a hole through the asari's head.

“Inextricable. I think he'd agree now that it was the biggest mistake of his life.” Aria growled as she clearly tightened her grip on the man under her.

“But... this is... murder.” Petrovsky choked.

Garrus looked to his mate, mandibles resting low, mouth open slightly. He was not sure how this was going to play out, but he sincerely hoped Shepard realized letting Aria kill the man was wrong. It would be murder. Even though Aria was the one performing the act, that blood would stain his mate's hands as well.

“That's right. Cold-blooded murder. No less than you deserve.” Aria all but whispered in his ear.

Mandibles snapping to his face in a set frown, Garrus realized he could not let this go on any longer. “We should think about this! What if he's got intel we could use?”

“Hell no! Don't go soft on me now, _Archangel!_ I _know_ you've done far worse!” Aria snapped, his codename nothing less than a sneer as she continued strangling the human. Petrovsky was struggling for breath by this point, pushing at her face weakly as her attention returned to him. Her voice had returned to that cold whispering tone. “Oh, no – you don't get an easy death. I'm going to make you suffer... _for Nyreen_...”

Garrus snapped his mouth shut. His hands were stained in the blood of his enemies. He was at a loss for a reason to stop her. She was right. He had done a great many things he was not proud of.

Shepard grabbed the asari's arm and jerked her back from Petrovsky. “Stand down! You've won! Nyreen wouldn't want this!”

Aria turned on Shepard then, her entire body engulfed in biotic energy. Garrus thought for a moment this whole thing was about to go sideways. “Have you lost your mind? _Get out of my way!_ ”

Shepard was glaring at the asari, her own biotics flickering around her hands. “No! The Alliance can use what he knows about the Illusive Man. We need that intel. We need to know what he's planning and Petrovsky has that information.”

Throwing her hands up in the air, Aria began to pace even as the general choked and gagged to regain his breath. “He has to _pay_ for what he's done!”

“And he will... legally.” Shepard growled.

“Not good enough!” Aria barked and lunged for him again, her eyes turning black as pitch.

Garrus had edged close to the general while the women were arguing. The second she lunged for the man, he made his move. Grabbing her wrists, he took the risk and placed himself between Aria and her target. She was strong, but he was stronger. He kept his gaze averted from her eyes for fear of what he suspected she might be.

“Ardat-Yakshi...?” Shepard gasped very quietly the instant it seemed to click for them both.

“ _Not quite!_ I'm not a _pure-blood!_ ” Aria snapped. She almost sounded indignant as her eyes returned to normal.

Garrus released her when she stopped struggling against his grip. It was clear she was not going to go for the general again, at least not while he was in her way. He was not thrilled with the idea of... whatever she was, but some primal part of him screamed she was something very close to the horror Morinth had been.

“You done?” Shepard asked coldly.

“Do I have a choice?” Aria growled back.

“No.” Shepard answered.

“Then I'm done.” Aria paced toward the railing then.

“Thank you, Commander. Glad to see you've had a... calming affect on Ms. T'Loak. I tried to talk some sense into her once.” Petrovsky had regained his ability to speak and was climbing to his feet, rolling his neck. “I look forward to hearing how you managed to pull it off.”

“I assume you know where this is going.” Shepard growled at him, her finger in his face.

Petrovsky shrugged and fiddled with his cuff-links. “From what I understand, high ranking Alliance POWs lead fairly comfortable lives. Who knows? You and I may even become friends.”

 _Oh spirits, no..._ Garrus closed his eyes at that. He knew how his mate felt about Cerberus and was fairly certain he knew where this was about to go. She would undoubtedly deck the man in a matter of heartbeats. She was pacing before him in anger as it was.

Shepard's pistol was in the man's face before he even stopped talking. It was clear form the look in her eyes that she was at war with herself over what to do with this man. “Now that I've seen what you're capable of, maybe Aria's instincts were right.”

“So.. you're going to execute me? I'm your prisoner! You can't just shoot me in cold-blood!” his panic was almost palpable.

“Like hell, I can't...” Shepard's voice was harder than Garrus had ever heard it. Before he could stop her, the gun went off. Petrovsky's brains painted the wall behind him and he dropped like a sack of rocks.

Garrus let out a low keen of shock he knew both women could hear. He knew the anger his bondmate was feeling. He had felt it himself when they had hunted down Sidonis. This was something he had never expected from her. Some part of him had always known she was more than capable, however. The fault was his, he realized, for not stopping her. He would bare that guilt and, in time, he knew she would too.

Shepard's eyes locked to his, her expression not quite the bitter anger he had thought he would see there. The look in her eyes was calculating. “After all he's done, it was too risky to let him live. We'll gather that intel from another source.”

Glancing down at the dead man, Garrus felt nothing of the guilt he expected to feel then. Maybe this was the right move, after all. His moment of doubt passed and he nodded at his bondmate in understanding. He might not completely agree with this choice, but her logic was sound. The man had been too dangerous, too connected to take back to the Alliance. That, he realized, might have been exactly what the Illusive Man had wanted, to destroy the Alliance from within via an 'inside source'. He realized then that this was a choice he might have made himself in her position. _The ruthless calculus of war_.

“Huh...” Aria grunted and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Look who's the hardass now. Priceless.”

“Bray, do you mind cleaning up this mess...” Shepard shook her head, glancing up at the batarian as he came up the stairs.

“I was starting to think you were rubbing off on me, Shepard, but maybe it was the other way around.” Aria all but purred.

“Don't get the wrong idea. It's time you turned over a new leaf.” Shepard stopped before the railing and leaned on it, staring at the asari. “ _Millions_ are suffering, and many paid the ultimate price. I hope you'll honor them.”

“Freedom isn't enough.” Aria began as she glanced at Shepard. “Tell you what, I'll write myself a memo.”

“Better make it a _long_ memo.” Garrus could not help the snark. It earned him a glare from the asari as she turned and leaned her back and elbows on the railing.

“Don't worry, I honor my debts. You'll have all the troops, ships and eezo that I promised.” Aria continued.

“Then we'll be going.” Shepard nodded.

“One last thing... before you go.” Aria said softly before grabbing Shepard by the arms. She kissed her hard.

“That's... um... that's my bondmate you have you lips on...” Garrus growled, at a loss in this suddenly ridiculous situation.

Aria released Shepard and gently pushed her back as she eyed the turian. “I don't mind sharing.”

Shepard was staring at her in open-mouthed shock. “Uh... no... thanks...”

“Your loss.” Aria smiled and then sighed. “I don't know if I'll ever be able to enjoy the pole dancing in here again. The general's stink is... everywhere.”

“We should go...” Garrus grumbled softly.

“Bray will take you back. I have a station to whip into shape.” Aria said calmly.

Shepard nodded and turned toward Garrus. She took his hand as she headed down the stairs, drawing him with her. He was still feeling a little overwhelmed by what he had just witnessed. It would take him some time to sort through all of that.

As they limped through Afterlife, Aria's voice came over the station's comm system. “Citizens of Omega, hear me. I, Aria T'Loak, have given you _back_ your lives. My rule is reignited. My hand is on the controls once more, and I will _not_ let go again. Each of you owes a debt. Gain my favor by rounding up the remaining Cerberus invaders and...”

Shepard glanced back toward Afterlife at that pause. When Aria continued, she turned back toward the docking bay. Garrus did not look back. He was done with Omega for good this time.

“... and we will cast them from our home, then bury and mourn our dead.” Aria's voice was quieter as she continued. “My methods haven't always been popular, and I can't promise that will change. But securing this station and _everyone_ inside it is now my _primary purpose_. _No one_ will _imprison_ us _again_. We may be bruised. We may be bloodied. But _we are Omega!_ ”

Shepard stopped before Bray and glanced back once more at Omega. “You always get these crap details, Bray?”

“Not this time.” The batarian grunted. “You've got a galaxy to save. Let's get you off this rock.”

Garrus took one look back and saw a Talons member dragging a struggling Cerberus trooper by the ankle toward a waiting shuttle. He snorted and started to turn back toward the door. Someone sprinting at breakneck speed up the stairs into Afterlife's shattered doors caught his attention and his mandibles flared in a wide smile.

“Damn... I thought she was dead.” he huffed a faint laugh.

“Who?” Shepard asked, following his gaze. Her brows raised in shocked recognition even as they heard the turian shout Aria's name. “ _Nyreen.._.”

The screen above Afterlife captured Aria's shocked expression as the turian woman rush into the frame. A cheer went up across the plaza the instant Nyreen swept Aria up into her arms in a tight embrace. It looked as if neither meant to ever let the other go again.


	66. Evidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tired as she is, Shepard finds she can't just drop and sleep. Something's bugging her and she does a little investigating into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fun chapter - post-Omega... So happy to be done with that mess [and so is Garrus]

The shuttle ride back through the relay to the Citadel served as a moment of reflection. Shepard gazed at her bondmate in concern as she gently cleaned the blood-encrusted wounds that swept across the scarred side of his neck. He was so exhausted that he was already trying to nod off even through her ministrations. They had agreed to patch each other up on the way back to the Citadel. Chakwas would not be happy to see either of them hit the medbay this time.

Shepard finished applying the thin layer of medi-gel to her bondmate's neck and realized her own injuries would have to wait. Garrus' sub-harmonics let out a faint reedy sound that passed for a turian snore as his head finally shifted to the side to rest against the bulkhead beside him. He was already sound asleep.

Shifting back in the seat beside him, she cringed at the bruises she knew were already developing. She had a lot of those, to be sure. As far as she could tell, there were no truly pressing wounds to treat. Scrapes and bruises she could manage easily.

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked their unexpected passengers over thoughtfully. She had not thought the shuttle would be heavy one snarky old asari and one snippy turian, but there they were. They sat in the far rear of the shuttle, both dozing lightly. She had not asked either of them what they were doing on Omega or even how they had gotten there, but she knew. Nana and Lilfrey's touch was all over Nyreen's miraculous survival, she was certain of that. Eventually she thought she might ask them about it. For now, she simply leaned into Garrus and tried to relax.

Garrus pulling rank on her still annoyed her. He had risked his life through most of this run. Looking up at that peacefully sleeping turian face, she gave a resigned sigh. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that he had been right to insist he follow her into hell and back. Without him, she might not have made it through that mess. It did not mean she had to like it, any of it. He meant everything to her and if he died on one of these missions... _The rest of the galaxy can go to hell_. The thought was full of venom. She was tired and she needed a break, needed a rest from the constant stresses of this war. There was only so much a person could take before they snapped. Shepard worried she was rapidly approaching that limit.

When Bray gently shook her shoulder, she realized she must have dozed off before they had even made it through the relay. She blinked and looked around in groggy disorientation for a moment before she realized Nana and Lilfrey were already making their way out the airlock. Garrus stretched, yawned and yelped at the stiffness in his joints beside her.

“Are we there yet?” he asked sleepily in a murmuring sigh as he crossed his arms over his abdomen. The tone sounded so much like a child in those aching seconds that Shepard had to smile.

“Come on, lover. We're here. Time to go home.” Shepard said softly as she took his arm and half dragged him to his feet.

The turian yawned again and scratched the thin plating just below the node in the back of his skull as he staggered to his feet. He took two steps and swayed, forcing Shepard to support him for a moment. Big as he was, that was no easy task. His scarred mandible cracked loudly with the next yawn and he cringed, blinking a little harder. A moment later, his free hand came up to rub at it.

“You ok?” Shepard asked in concern. She was beginning to realize he had crashed harder than she had thought.

“Hmmm...” he hummed with a nod as he thumped slowly across the shuttle to the airlock under his own power.

Garrus held onto the frame as he stepped out into the docking bay sleepily. It was a short trip down the hall to D24 and the Normandy's airlock. The turian nearly fell over the keeper that seemed to glare up at him as it passed.

 _Strange, they never notice anything. They certainly never move_ _ **around**_ _anyone._.. Shepard frowned back at the creature thoughtfully after it sidestepped and passed them. With a shake of her head, she continued on, making sure her turian remained upright. She was fairly certain he would not remember returning to the Normandy tired as he clearly was.

The second they entered the airlock, Chakwas was there. She had her omni-tool open and scanning them both within seconds. The commander did not think to question the doctor's presence. With the two of them, there was almost always a reason for her to be checking up on them. It made perfect sense that she would be waiting for them upon their return from this mission.

“A bucket list of bumps, bruises and scrapes, Commander...” Chakwas sighed as she lowered her omni-tool. “Garrus, your injuries are much worse. I want you in the medbay immediately for treatment.”

The turian rolled his eyes and grumbled something their translators could not parse. Chakwas put her fists on her hips and glared up at him with a sour look. Shepard knew that look, it could curdle milk. Garrus made eye contact then and nodded slowly.

“I'll treat your injuries as well, Commander. I expect you'll both be needing a good night's sleep. It will go easier if you don't have a multitude of sore places to struggle with.” Chakwas said and turned to head toward the elevator.

“Spirits...” Garrus began and Shepard cut him off.

“Don't argue, Garrus. You can't win this one.” Shepard eyed him as they headed for the elevator behind the doctor. “Besides... I'm still a little irked over that rank thing.”

“Hmmm... uh... about that...” he stammered, more alert than he had been a few moments ago.

“We'll settle that later.” Shepard grumbled softly, but there was no real anger behind it. She had blown through most of that against Cerberus.

By the way his mandibles clicked to the sides of his face, she knew he was wondering exactly how she meant to settle it. _Let him wonder. He should be concerned. It took an act of willpower not to grab one of the medics and insist they sedate him to keep him there... Especially after that trip through the mines. God, I almost lost him there._..

All things considered, their injuries had been relatively minor. Chakwas patched up the turian's cracked rib plate, but only time would tell if the injury had weakened it. She had done the same for his fractured leg spur. His neck and mandible were superficial wounds that the medi-gel was already taking care of. Once she was satisfied that they were both on the mend, she allowed them to leave the medbay with specific instructions; get some rest.

Shepard had found it hard to sleep after her bondmate virtually passed out across their bed. She opted into a little research. Garrus' rank in the turian military had always been a mystery to her. Those records were sealed due to his inactive status when he had been in C-Sec, and on the SR-1. That had clearly changed during her incarceration. Generals were saluting him now, after all. Even the primarch deferred to his judgment as to how to deploy the turian fleet. Pulling rank on her had only fueled her desire to investigate.

Sipping her coffee, she scrolled through a series of previously sealed documents. Her private terminal in their quarters was patched into the Hierarchy's database. When his military status and rank came up she nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee.

_**Name:** Vakarian, Garrus_

_**Hierarchy Elite Forces:** Cabal – Third Class._

_**Military Rank:** Commodore_

_**Current Hierarchy Placement:** Praetor; 5th in line for Primarch of Palaven_

_**Military Status:** Active._

_**Deployment:** Normandy SR-2_

_**Mission:** Oversee strategic deployment and execution of turian fleet defenses. Assist Commander Shepard, coordinate Reaper offensive/defensive countermeasures in cooperation with the Alliance and subsequent races; by order of Primarch Adrien Victus._

As she sat there staring at that short document, she realized his late nights at the terminal in the battery must not have all been 'calibrations'. He must have been engaged in strategy and planning. She could not think of anyone more qualified than her bondmate to plan the kind of military offensive his people needed against the Reapers. The fact that he honestly did outrank nearly everyone she knew was a bonus. It meant he could pull rank on any of them if he absolutely needed to. When she thought about his societal position, she knew. As one of only five remaining praetors of his world, he might even hold sway over Councilor Sparatus.

Before she closed the terminal down for the night, something else struck her. Nowhere on that document was it mentioned about his 'expert reaper advisor' title. The Reapers were mentioned in regards to countermeasures. The 'advisor' part must have been replaced with his official rank. It made a certain kind of sense to her then. Something told her the rank of 'commodore' was relatively recent. _What was his official rank when he first boarded the SR-1?_ That was a question she might never get an honest answer to.

Finally, she closed the terminal down in favor of the idea of sleep. Stretching, she stood and glanced through the model case at the sleeping turian sprawled across the bed. His feet were hanging off the edge as he lay on his belly with pillows tucked around him for extra cushion and support. It seemed as if those pillows had been breeding. There were piles of them all over the bed now.

His left foot twitched, the two toes curling toward the creased pad of his foot slight, as he let out a soft sigh. The talons of that foot clicked together faintly as she headed down the stairs. She smiled at the sounds, wondering how she had ever gotten by without them while she was stuck on Earth.

Sitting on the edge of the bed near his feet, Shepard let out a sigh of her own. Human beds were not made with seven foot tall turians in mind. The mat from his old cot had not worked as a supportive layer on top of human constructed bed. After some careful thought, she had put in a request for a turian bed, but it had yet to be filled. So they continued to sleep on the flat mattress and her turian made due with pillows. In her honest opinion, it was a sad compromise for the possible future leader of an entire world to put up with.

Thoughts of Wrex crossed her mind then and she snorted softly. He actually was the current leader of a world and he had been sleeping in a cargo bay. _Way to make friends, Shepard... toss them in the cargo hold and ignore their basic creature comforts_. Shaking her head, she began stripping down. Sleep, that was what she needed. In a few hours she knew she would be forced back to the grind.

It was with a great sense of relief that her head hit the pillow. She blinked at the turian drooling on the pillow beside her and chuckled. His mandible flicked slightly and his eye rolled beneath his eyelids in deep sleep. He did not react to the shifting of the bed as she settled in. That, in itself, was a testament to the level of trust between them. _And the level of exhaustion_ , she thought wryly.

“Turians do drool, babe....” she sighed contentedly as she opened her omni-tool and recorded him for a couple of minutes.

The short vid became absolutely priceless as his mandible twitch again. His mouth plates parted slightly and the blue tip of his tongue slowly peeked between them. A pearl of saliva oozed off it and over his chin to be absorbed in the pillow his face was pressed into.

“Gotcha...” she laughed softly as she keyed the light off before closing her omni-tool.

Shepard heard him sigh again, his sub-harmonics humming softly in the beginnings of a purr as he yawned. His voice, thick with sleep, came quietly to her ears a second before he shifted and pulled her close. “I don't... drool.....”

“I've got evidence.” she snickered softly.

“Wasn't me... can't prove it...” he hummed as he nuzzled into the back of her upper shoulder.

“I've got video.” she sighed.

“Damn....” he groused.

“Sleep.... Vakarian....” Shepard's voice was growing softer as she drifted.


	67. Dance Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is secretly taking dance lessons in the shuttle bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mindless fun ahead.

It was late when Garrus woke to the insistent pinging of his omni-tool. He moaned softly, canceling the annoyance, and reached out for Shepard's sleeping form. Warm and soft, her body conformed to his more perfectly than any turian ever could have. He nuzzled into her shoulder and let out a contented sigh, drifting off again.

The second he found himself teetering on the edge of deep sleep once more, his omni-tool pinged again. With a quiet growl, he silenced it and shifted to glare up at the star-field overhead. The third time it pinged, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed in frustration.

“En su-nah lus!” he snarled softly, the thought occurred to him that there was something he was supposed to be doing.

Opening the omni-tool, he stood and headed up the three steps into the upper level of the captain's cabin. The face on the small screen over his forearm was glaring at him.

“You're late.” the asari said simply.

“Natearus...” Garrus began.

“You know I don't answer to that name, boy.” Nana grumbled and glared at him, looking him over critically. “Get your leathery turian ass down to the shuttle bay. We're waiting...”

Garrus sighed as the connection closed and pinched the soft tissue just behind his nasal plates, rolling the pads of his thumb and finger across his eyes. It was going to be a long night. He realized he should have considered the toll the missions might take before he had agreed to this.

“Alright...” he grumbled on a soft breath to himself after a moment. Glancing down toward the bed and his sleeping mate, he longed to curl back up around her. The soft moan as she rolled and settled with her arms around one of his pillows reminded him why he was doing this.

With a nod to himself, he exited their quarters and headed into the elevator. Nana, Cortez and Vega could deal with him showing up in his undersuit. If they did not like it... well, he honestly did not care. This was his sleep cycle and that meant he should be in bed, not moving about the ship anyway.

The ride down to the shuttle bay found him leaning against the wall wishing he could crawl back into bed. He had not realized just how sore he would be after this last mission. True, Chakwas had treated his most pressing injuries, but his plates would take months to properly heal. In the meantime, the tissue around them was going to be tender.

“We doing this or not, Scars?” Vega barked from somewhere far off.

Garrus opened his eyes and realized he had dozed off standing in the corner. _Get with the program, Vakarian. Falling asleep on your feet? That could get you killed_. He did not give voice to that irritation, but his sub-harmonics were raging indignantly.

Nana frowned up at him as he stopped before her. He knew she saw just how tired he was. Part of him wondered if she might put this one hold for the night. His heart sank just a fraction when he realized she meant to carry on regardless.

Nodding toward the hulking mountain of meat in the room, Nana said, “If you will, Mr. Vega. Give us some music.”

A moment later, the shuttle bay was thumping with Vega's style of 'jams' as he called it. Nana was glaring at the man. Garrus snickered, finally breaking through to full alertness at the sudden thumping beat.

“I said... music, boy! Key up that tango beat I sent to your omni-tool.” Nana yelled over the cacophony of sound.

The music changed and Nana nodded. She grabbed Cortez by the wrist and shoved him at Garrus. “This fine young man knows what he's doing. He'll lead, you'll follow. I'll correct your frame and step. Once you have the basic steps, I'll take his place... and _you_ will lead.”

Garrus nodded with a hard swallow. “How hard can it be?”

Nana chuckled and gave him an evil smile, eyes trained on his face as she took a step back from them. Garrus stared at her, eyes growing just a fraction wider. He had 'danced' his way through combat hundreds of time. How could this be any harder? Certainly not more dangerous.

Cortez nodded and took his hand, locking it in an iron grip. He shifted their arms loosely for a moment and nodded when Garrus caught on, locking his own elbow. It was the hand on his waist that he was not entirely comfortable with. He ignored the pressure and followed Cortez through the first few steps. That hand was not on his left side, nowhere near the damaged plate. He would survive this small indignity. This was for Shepard, after all and he realized he would put up with just about anything for her.

“Hey, Esteban! I think he's a natural.” Vega hooted and laughed after the first couple of rounds.

Garrus was a quick study and prided himself on that fact. This felt like locked sparring without the aggression usually involved.

Cortez shook his head as Garrus stepped on his foot for the fourth time. “You think so? Come over here and let him stomp your foot for awhile.”

“Oh.. damn... Yeah, I don't think so.” Vega laughed and went back to his workbench for a moment. “What do you weigh, Scars? Couple hundred pounds? Uh... no, no... you can keep him, Esteban.”

“This is what I get for letting an asari talk me into dance lessons.” Cortez breathed quietly.

“I'm likin' the new you, Esteban. About time you loosened up.” Vega laughed.

Cortez let out a sigh and stepped back quickly before the turian could step on his foot again. “I'm not sure how getting hammered last night makes me a better crewman.”

“How does it not? It gives you heart.” Vega asked incredulously.

“And hangovers.” Garrus grumbled. As he made eye contact with Cortez, he nodded in sympathy.

“ _Heartburn_ , maybe... and Garrus is right, hangovers. God, what was I _thinking?_ Seriously, could we at least get some decent Tequila?” Cortez grumbled as he glanced toward Vega.

“Hey, you're the procurement specialist. Set us up.” Vega retorted.

“More dance, less chatter.” Nana snapped, but there was a chuckle in her voice.

Several weeks of nocturnal lessons dragged on like that. Garrus picked up the steps quickly, but Nana was out for perfection. She would accept nothing less. The sessions never lasted long. Nana made it clear he was to be well rested before the next mission. The turian was certain she was snickering every night he came down to the shuttle bay somewhat less than dressed. She knew he was taking these lessons without Shepard's knowledge. In fact, she had encouraged just that. It was meant to be a surprise.

Tired of Vega's teasing about his undersuit one night, Garrus had found the most ridiculous excuse for the turian equivalent of a speedo he could get his talons on. There was just enough fabric to cover his seam and the crack of his leathery ass. He might have gone to the shuttle bay completely nude if not for the fact he had grown accustomed to wearing clothes. Clothing on most parts of Palaven was still optional. _At least it was before the Reapers tore through my homeworld... damn_. It was a sobering thought, but he pushed it aside for the moment. This prank he was about to play was meant to be fun, not nostalgic. Instead of his customary undersuit, he put that tiny scrap of fabric on and headed toward his lesson.

Vega sprayed a mouthful of his beverage half way across the shuttle bay the second Garrus stepped off the elevator. “ _Holy shit_ , Scars! _Where_ are your clothes?”

Garrus huffed a laugh and snapped the bright blue band of elastic just above his hip crests at him with one hand. With the other, he waved and gave the man the turian equivalent of 'the bird'. The wide eyed look on the man's face was priceless.

“Clothes or no clothes, you're taking this lesson, boy!” Nana barked and was clearly struggling to keep from dying of laughter.

“I'm... not comfortable... with..uh... _that_...” Cortez waved a hand at Garrus to indicate his state of dress.

“Neither am I, but... _that_ was _so..._ worth it.” Garrus admitted even as he pointed at Vega still trying to regain his composure. He ducked into the storage alcove behind Vega's station with a snicker. He had been planning this for a couple of days and tucked a spare undersuit back there.

A moment later, he emerged wearing the blue and yellow undersuit he had once worn under the armor marred by his stay on Omega. He was greeted with a distinctive sigh of relief from Cortez. Vega could be heard grumbling in Spanish as he remained hidden in his station for several long minutes. All Garrus could do was chuckle and shake his head, his sub-harmonics thrumming with mirth as he stepped into this final round of lessons.

Nana had poked him, prodded him and even pushed him into proper form for weeks now. If he were human, he would bare bruises from the sharp jabs of her fingers. Even turian flesh was not immune, however. His elbows were sore from being poked so many times. She was just as relentless with this as she had been training him as Cabal. He had to admit, it was paying off. Even his footwork in combat was improving.

Glaring down at the asari as she took Cortez' place before him, he realized she and Shepard were similar in size and proportion. He knew that was one of many reasons she had finally traded places with the human. She wanted to ensure he knew how to dance with a smaller female partner. When he hesitated to take up the initial stance, she glared at him.

“C'mon, boy. You've been dancing with Cortez for almost three weeks between supply runs now.” Nana snapped, glaring up at him. She waved her hand expectantly. “Time you danced with your mentor... prove what you've learned so far.”

Garrus nodded, clearing his throat slightly as he took her hand. He knew his way around this human form of dance now. With Shepard, he knew it would be so much different. His research had told the complex tale of the tango. Some called it the dance of love and death while there was an obscure note mentioning it as the dance of loneliness and lust. He could relate to both and meant to show Shepard just that when he finally had her in his arms on a dance floor.

Dancing with Nana was a mechanical act of skill. He proved that skill well in this session. She did not push him far into some of the more uncomfortable position out of obvious respect. Those she had made sure he could perform, but strongly recommended he reserve for Shepard alone.

By the time the music ended and they parted, Nana's cheeks were flushed a deeper blue. “You're ready...”

“Ready for what?” came Shepard's voice as she stepped off the elevator. From the look on her face, she was at a complete loss.

Garrus was practically vibrating with sub-harmonics as he headed her way. She looked tired, worn around the edges and her hair was escaping her customary bun. He had slipped away early tonight in the hopes that she would stretch out in their bed and lose herself to a few hours of sleep. Clearly that had not happened.

“Listo para el amor.” Vega purred.

Glaring at the man, Garrus snorted. “I have no idea what you just said, Jimmy.”

“Come on, Scars!” Vega bit his bottom lip and thrust his hips forward a couple of times, hands clearly grip an imaginary... something.

“ _Oh._..” Garrus all but gasped, eyes widening as he glanced at Shepard. “No... not... uh... am I in trouble?”

Shepard looked between him and the other three. It was obvious she was fighting back a smile, but her eyes sparkled with mischief. Her voice matched that look. “Depends on what you four were doing.”

“Salsa...” Vega half growled, half laughed as he keyed a music track that fit the word.

The smile did break across her face then as she looked Garrus up and down. “Uh-huh, you're not built to jiggle, lover.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listo para el amor [Spanish] - Ready for love.
> 
> En su-nah lus [turian] - I hate this thing


	68. Debating Morality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard isn't thrilled when she realizes she's practically mediating a civil war between the military and civilian ships of the quarian flotilla.

Shepard was not entirely sure she really wanted to know what the four of them were doing so late in the shuttle bay. With Nana's little blue hands mixing things around, it was bound to be some sort of trouble... for her. She shook her head once and looked around at them before locking eyes with her bondmate.

“There's news from the flotilla, trouble brewing with the geth. We're heading into the Perseus Veil.” Shepard paused and glanced at each of them again. “I don't need to tell you how important it is to have the quarian fleet at our side when we take this war to the Reapers.”

There were mumbles and nods all around as Vega killed the music. She had not meant to be a buzz-kill to their fun, but it was late and they all needed rest. The night crew was already well into their shift. The five of them should have been asleep hours ago. She would have stayed in bed if not for the nightmare that seemed to always be waiting for her eyes to close these days. Tired as she was, she had no desire to revisit that burned out forest with its lonely park bench again so soon. At least Harbinger had been absent this time and there had been no burning hand-print. That piece of Reaper tech Chakwas and Garrus had removed from her arm must have been his link to her.

“We've got a couple of hours before we reach the Veil. I suggest we get some rest.” she nodded and headed back toward the elevator. Garrus joined her a moment later.

“I've got a few of things to check on in the battery. I'll head up after with a couple of ration bars.” Garrus rumbled, moving in close as the doors closed on the shuttle bay.

Shepard put a hand on the rim of his cowl and breathed in his scent as it enveloped her with him so close. She had been acutely aware of his nocturnal outings the last few weeks. He usually came back to their quarters tired and sore. On occasion she had noticed a few darker spots around his elbows and unprotected shoulders. They had worried her at first, until she had realized they were bruises.

Sparring with Vega had been her first thought, but Cortez? Or Nana? Nana was certainly a possibility, but not Cortez. The man did not strike her as the type to engage in that sort of sport. And Vega... well, she already knew what he was about when it came to sparring matches. He had nearly broken her nose once with an all too solid hit. No, there was something else going on. Innocent thought it clearly was, she enjoyed watching them all squirm as if she had caught them with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar. Either way, she meant to find out what it was.

At that moment, however, she nodded at her bondmate and reached up to run her fingers gently over his scarred mandible before he stepped out of the elevator on the crew deck. He ducked down and rested his plated brow against her forehead briefly, locking is icy blue eyes to hers. Getting lost in those eyes was far too easy and she smiled at him before raising up on tip-toes to plant a firm kiss on his mouth plates.

“Go. I'll be in our quarters.” she whispered before backing away and allowing him to leave the elevator.

Shepard knew what he had to do in the battery. He needed to check in with Victus, plan the next move in evading the Reaper forces firmly ensconced on his homeworld. To do that, he needed access to the live map over the left-hand console. He would likely run a couple of firing algorithms while he was at it. She knew he would make it as quick as possible. There was a good chance he would wait until they had more information from the quarians to implement anymore strategy. Logically, as she thought about it, that made the most sense.

The elevator door opened on the door to their quarters and she let out a tired sigh. There would be no more sleep for her tonight. They were meeting with the flotilla as soon as they breached the veil. Admiral Raan would be waiting for them along with a couple of other familiar faces behind those purple-glassed masks.

A part of her hoped Tali would be with them. She had not seen the quarian woman in months and deeply missed her. Her friend had returned to the flotilla not long after they had returned through the Omega 4 relay. She had effectively missed one of the most important events in Shepard's life. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to hear about that one when the woman finally made an appearance.

Settling onto the couch with a sigh, Shepard picked up her ever present sketch pad and began to sketch. If she could not sleep, at least she could relax by zoning into the strokes of her pencil. Her subjects were wide ranging, everything from the way the light and shadow played across the water of the Presidium lake to Garrus sleeping sprawled across the bed with a hand resting on the floor. This, she knew, was what she was made for. War was just her calling of the moment. She did what had to be done, but at the end of the day, she always came back to this. Her mind always cycled back to how someone or something looked in certain lighting.

Now she worked on a sketch of her bondmate, the curl of his toes on the edge of the bed and the way he rested on one elbow watching her a few nights ago. She had captured the moment almost perfectly and now worked to flesh it out from memory. The quizzical tilt of his head reminded her so much of a curious cockatoo that she smiled, a giggle escaping her as a shadow passed between her and the glow of the fish tank.

Shepard had not heard the door to their quarters open, nor his feet on the stairs before he leaned over to get a look at what she was sketching. Garrus huffed a laugh and sat down carefully on the couch beside her. He set one ration bar down on the coffee table before her and tore the wrapper open on his own before easing back into the cushions with a sigh.

“That's not vorsin, is it?” she asked almost dreamily. In the 'zone' as she was, it felt almost like sleeping and dreaming while awake.

“No.” he answered and turned the package over to read it. Clearly even he was not sure what he was about to eat. His brow-plates raised a fraction. “Tholam berry glazed gammok... or so it says.”

“Tholam berry tea is good.” she mumbled, remembering the tea served at the diner on Palaven. The memory would have been pleasant enough if she had not been leaving the love of her life behind to face down the Alliance and all the charges lobbed at her.

Garrus nodded at that before taking a bite of his ration bar. He grunted as he chewed at it for a moment. “This isn't bad.”

“Commander, the quarian shuttle just landed in the shuttle bay.” Joker said over the comm much earlier than expected.

“Duty calls.” Shepard sighed and set the sketch pad aside.

“Fast couple of hours.” Garrus grumbled and stuffed the rest of his ration bar into his mouth before getting to his feet.

“Looks like they got here early.” she murmured as she took his offered hands to pull herself up.

Shepard made her way to the war room quickly, Garrus bringing up the rear. They were both tired, but it was important they both hear what the quarians had to say. The turian needed that information to better plan his people's countermeasures.

Leaning on the rim of the dais in the middle of the room to look up at the Crucible's holo, Shepard raised up as the quarians filed in. she recognized Raan right away. If her suit had not been enough to distinguish her, the face behind the near transparent glass of her mask would have. The quarians had been working on the opacity of their masks for the last couple of years now. It was paying off.

“Commander Shepard. A pleasure to see you again though I wish it were under better circumstances.” Raan said as she came down the short set of stairs, followed by her entourage.

Shepard suppressed a sigh. She already knew there was trouble brewing here. The question was, how much and how best to diffuse it. “I'd hoped for your support in the fight against the Reapers. What's going on?”

“Seventeen days ago,” Admiral Gerrel stepped forward. She had not recognized the man with a more transparent face-plate. “with a precision strike on four geth systems, the quarians initiated the war to retake our homeworld.”

“Which was a clear violation of our agreement with the Council to avoid provoking the geth!” Admiral Koris stated in an irate tone.

Admiral Xen waved her arm in a dismissive gesture. “A treaty violation is _nothing_ compared to recovering our homeworld and any advanced AI technology that can be salvaged.”

Shepard took it all in, slamming the 'commander mask' into place over the urge to rage at them all. Her battle to remain silent was lost the moment Admiral Xen stepped forward. No sooner than the quarian woman had stepped back, her peace stated, than the leash slipped free of the commander's temper.

“The _Reapers_ are here, ravaging worlds, destroying entire races,” Shepard raged, flinging an arm out in agitation. “and the quarian fleet is busy taking _potshots_ at the geth? Where's the logic?”

“They drove us from our homeworld three hundred years ago!” Raan exclaimed.

“After we attempted to kill them.” Koris said, shifting his weight slightly and looking to Raan.

“We didn't try to kill them, Koris. We tried to _deactivate_ them. It wasn't like we were committing murder.” Xen reasoned.

Shepard found herself glaring at the admiral before she finally reigned in her temper enough to speak again. “No. It was murder.”

“Commander, the quarians never _intended_ to create a true AI. It was an _accident_.” Xen was defending ancient history and they all knew it.

“So... you tried to correct that accident by... trying to _kill_ them. Sounds suspiciously like _murder_ to me.” Garrus spoke up from his position leaning against the railing of the upper level with his arms crossed. Clearly the quarians had not know he was there.

Koris let out a sigh as Shepard pushed herself off the dais between them. “Don't bother. Admitting we were wrong would undercut the justification for this suicidal invasion plan.”

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel that stress headache lying in wait, just itching to bloom behind her eyes. “So you throw yourselves at the geth, in the hopes of what?”

“Reclaiming Rannoch just in time for the Reapers to invade? That's... well, that's just...” Garrus could not seem to finish the thought, his mandibles fluttering slightly in frustration.

“It's suicide. Or maybe genocide. Take your pick, because it doesn't seem like a sound strategy to me.” Shepard growled at them.

“Yes, and this time, we may have destroyed our people for good.” Koris' very words seemed to drip justifiable sarcasm. It was clear he did not agree with his people's decision.

Gerrel stepped forward, opening his omni-tool. “We'd driven the geth back to the home system when this signal began broadcasting to all geth ships.”

As he spoke, he linked his tool with the holo-display above the dais and Shepard frowned. She recognized those sickly green markers on the system map. Her voice was barely more than a ragged growl. “The Reapers.”

“Under Reaper control, the geth are significantly more effective.” Gerrel nodded with a sigh of resignation and glanced her way as he shifted his weight. “Our fleet is pinned in the home system. If we're going to win – ”

“Win?! How does involving the civilian ships win, Admiral Gerrel?! We need to retreat or we'll lose the liveships!” Koris raged at the other quarian.

Shepard leaned on the dais staring at the image before her with a sigh of frustration. _God, when did I sign up to mediate a civil war? How do I work with this_? It took her a moment of just staring at that display to conceal the turmoil within behind the 'commander mask'. “I'm not here to dictate to you how to handle a centuries old conflict. The Alliance and Council worlds need the quarian fleet in the fight against the Reapers.... whatever it takes.”

Garrus had pushed himself off the railing and stepped toward the dais looking over the system map. His face was a mask of severe concentration as he glanced toward Gerrel. “Where's this signal coming from?”

“Here.” Gerrel said, clearly ignoring the commander as he zeroed in on the source with his omni-tool. “A geth dreadnaught. It can outgun anything we've got and it's heavily defended.”

Garrus crossed his arms again, tapping his chin thoughtfully with a knuckle. He was clearly chewing on the problem from every angle she could not see in this mess. Stepping toward him, she drew his attention to what looked like a gap in the dreadnaught's defenses.

“You see this pattern?” she asked him.

“Hmm...” he nodded and traced a line with his finger along a path that kept opening in a repeating pattern. “We could use the Normandy's stealth drive here.”

“It would get us in undetected. I could board and disable the Reaper command signal.” she nodded.

“You know...” Garrus drawled as his focus shifted to her. “I really don't like that plan, but I've got your six regardless.”

“Yes. Cutting the signal should throw the geth into _complete_ _disarray_.” Admiral Xen nodded as she tapped the mouth piece of her helmet gently.

“And while they're confused, you get to a mass relay and retreat.” Shepard said firmly.

“Finally, the voice of reason. Our civilian ships have seen too much fighting already.” Koris' voice was filled with relief. His eyes found hers for a moment and he asked an honest question. “Are you certain you can disable the signal?”

Shepard was not entirely sure she could deliver on that promise. She knew, however, that she really had no choice. They needed the quarian fleet if they hoped to defeat the Reapers. “We'll get you outa there safely, Admiral.”

Raan turned slightly to glance behind her at the doorway before speaking again. “Our newest admiral has volunteered to offer mechanical expertise...”

Shepard and Garrus both looked up at the door as a figure came strolling in. The commander knew her far better than any other quarian she had had the privilege of meeting. She had been on her pilgrimage when they had first met and she had been among the first of the SR-1's crew. _Has it really been that long? Hard to believe she was little more than a kid when we first met her_.

“Tali'Zorah vas Normandy reporting for duty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Gammok' - a kind of emu [borrowed from the glossary of Palaven flora and fauna being put together by myself and CrackingLamb]
> 
> 'Tholam Berry - turian blackberries


	69. Conflicts of Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much is riding on the outcome of this war with the geth. Tali isn't sure if her people will survive it.

Tali was impressed with how the SR-2 was shaping up. The moment she entered the war room, she saw Shepard standing on the lower level with Garrus before the holo-image of her home system. They were clearly working out a plan of attack. It felt like coming home.

“Tali'Zorah vas Normandy reporting for duty.” she said with a nod as she stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Glad you could make it, Tali.” Shepard locked eyes with her and smiled. Without missing a single beat, the commander glanced at those in the room with her. “Admirals. I'll ready a team to hit that dreadnaught.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Raan said sounded greatly relieved.

Shepard simply nodded, but Tali could see it... that anger bubbling just under the surface. The human walked past the others and came up to her level quickly. The look in her eyes was an unspoken request to walk with her and the quarian did not ignore it.

“So... Admiral?” Shepard asked the moment they were through the door.

Tali nodded with a faint laugh. “It's mostly a formality. I'm an expert on the geth.”

“That you are.” Shepard nodded as they continued toward the conference room.

Tali stepped into the glass room and raised her head to look out the viewport. She could not contain the half laugh of relief that gusted out of her at the sight. The fact that one of her dearest friends was actually here might make all the difference in this mess. “Heh... I'm glad you're here.”

“If I'd known it was this bad, I'd have come sooner.” Shepard said, leaning against the door frame with a shrug.

“You've had your own troubles. I'm... sorry about Earth.” Tali glanced back at the human woman and shifted her weight. Her attention returned to the view of the stars before her. She turned back toward the commander before continuing. “We have the largest fleet in the galaxy. If you can help us, we'll hit the Reapers with everything we've got.”

“You sure the rest of the admiral will agree?” Shepard asked quietly.

“Some already do. The rest will fall in-line once this stupid war is over. Our fleet, or whatever's left of it, will assist against the Reapers. We have no choice.” Tali turned back toward that viewport and hoped there would be enough left of her people and the quarian fleet to make a difference.

“I thought you'd support the invasion.” Shepard's tone was almost a question as she heard the woman move from her place against the door frame.

“No.” Tali gave a single shake of her head, her voice low. She knew what was at stake here and it was far more than just the dream of a homeworld she had never known. “After talking to Legion, I thought _maybe_ there was a chance for peace.”

“So why help them?” Shepard asked at her shoulder.

Tali sighed, this was harder than she had ever thought it might be. Turning toward Shepard again, she made eye contact with the woman. The sigh of frustration escaped her before she could contain it. “I'm an admiral. People look to me for guidance. Public disagreement would divide the fleet.”

Shepard nodded. If anyone understood her dilemma it would be her friend and captain. The woman put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance then. “I'll get your people out of here safely, Tali. You have my word on that.”

“Thanks, Shepard.” Tali nodded and reigned in her frustration and relief. “Staying professional in front of the other admirals is harder than I thought.”

“Understood... Admiral.” Shepard said with a kind smile. “We'll catch up in the port lounge later. Garrus still has a bottle or two of turian brandy.”

“Triple filtered?” a drink sounded exceptionally good right then to the quarian.

“Mmhm..” Shepard nodded and shifted from foot to foot for a moment.

“Then I'm in.” Tali nodded before watching Shepard turn and head out of the room. She waited until the woman was out of earshot before returning her gaze to the viewport. “If we survive this mess.”

“That... doesn't sound like the Tali I know.” came the distinctive dual-toned voice of the only turian on board.

Suppressing the zing of attraction, Tali turned and gave him a genuine smile, even if he could not see all of it. “Garrus! I've missed your snarky comments.”

The turian gave her a noncommittal grunt as he took Shepard's spot against the door frame. He glanced back toward the war room in clear irritation. “Those varren in there are about to tear each other apart.”

“I should probably talk to them. Most of them will be returning to the fleet soon anyway.” Tali shifted.

“You think they'll agree to join the Reaper Offensive when this is all over?” Garrus asked as he pushed himself off the door frame.

“I won't give them a choice...” Tali paused thoughtfully for a moment. “And neither will Shepard.”

Garrus huffed a laugh and shook his head slightly. She caught the glint of a thin metal chain resting against the pulse line of his neck. His voice was full of confidence and pride when he spoke again. “No, she won't.”

Tali stopped beside him just before exiting the room. Looking up at him, she pulled her eyes away from his almost violently. He belonged to Shepard. She could see the upper edge of a bondmark just above his collar. That did not mean she could not still lust after him. She had to admit, if she had ever gotten the chance to be with him, it would only have been a fling. _Maybe a one night stand. It could have been fun, but he would have wanted so much more. Shepard is a better fit. They deserve to be happy... together._

“When did the 'joint forces' acquire a name?” she asked curiously.

“Just something I tossed on the effort. It's not.. uh... it's not official.” Garrus gave a nervous laugh.

“It's very fitting.” Tali nodded and stepped out of the room, heading back toward the war room and the 'varren' within.

Garrus had been right. The war room was chaos. Raan, Xen, Koris and Gerrel were practically at each other's throats. Tali had mentioned to Shepard about remaining professional, but these four were anything but. She thought perhaps they needed a lesson in professionalism.

“Fighting like rabid varren won't get our people through this ridiculous war!” Tali shouted over their arguments.

The four of them ceased yelling at each other to glare up at her. “Good. Now that I have your attention... Three of you are returning to the fleet.”

Voices raised in protest and Tali held a hand up to forestall them. She remained standing at the top of the stairs. It gave her an advantage and she used it to it's fullest. She looked to Raan with a nod then. The woman nodded back, a silent acceptance.

“I will remain on the Normandy to coordinate this effort.” Raan stated calmly.

“Not good enough. I should remain to...” Gerrel began and was cut off.

“What about the salvage? We need those AI components.” Xen complained.

“Raan stays, the rest of you return to the fleet. Your guidance is better served if you are present.” Tali attempted the diplomatic answer to their objections.

“No, I think we'll be staying right here. We can coordinate our war effort just as well right here.” Gerrel said firmly. When the others agreed, it was clear that Tali had lost the debate. They would remain on the Normandy.

Tali let out a frustrated sigh and glared at each and every one of them. “Fine, but you must stop bickering.”

“Yes, we need to present a unified front to the fleet.” Raan agreed.


	70. The Docking Tube

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard takes that docking tube as personal challenge and refuses to let anyone else take the risk.

“Five minutes to Rannoch.” Joker said from his position at the helm.

Shepard nodded and crossed her arms standing to his side. “What've you got from the comm buoys?”

Joker taped a few keys on his holo-interface. After a moment, he leaned to the left, resting his elbow on the arm of his chair after waving his fingers at the interface. “Pretty much a big ol' shitstorm, Commander.”

“I have detected several hundred unique ship signatures engaged in active combat.” EDI said to the far right of the bridge.

Joker pressed his fingers into his eyes for a moment in frustration before glancing back at the interface. “Yeah, like I said.”

Shepard shook her head faintly and looked up at the viewport before them. “Take us in, Joker.”

Joker cracked his knuckles before touching the holo-keys again. His hands flew over those controls with a sureness that came with experience. “Stealth drive engaged. Only way they'll detect us if you all start singing the Russian national anthem.”

Shepard simply gave him a look that he clearly did not notice before turning toward the door. She felt the drive kick and glanced back just in time to see the battle pop into being before the Normandy. It was a humbling sight to see so many ships actively engaged in a life or death struggle. Somehow, she knew this was only the first of many such sights she was likely to see.

“My cyberwarfare suit is accessing their docking protocols.” EDI said mechanically from her seat.

The Normandy slipped past the firing ships undetected. Shepard flinched and gripped the door frame before her when one of the quarian ships suddenly exploded off their starboard bow. The Normandy shuddered slightly in the ensuring shockwave. It was a massacre out there.

The moment the deck steadied beneath her feet, Shepard was off. She headed into the airlock, keying in her omni-tool's link with the Normandy's comm system as she went. “Lock and load, gang. We're docking in just under five minutes.”

Tali was already waiting in the airlock. She nodded when the commander entered. Garrus... she was not sure he was really ready for another away mission. His injuries from Omega were healing, yes, but pushing him too hard could put him down fast. As the Normandy drifted toward the dreadnaught, she realized she really had no other choice. He was her best man and she needed the best at her six. No one else on board could anticipate her movements like he could. And no one else alive knew her as well. What worried her was the possibility of him sacrificing his own safety for hers.

With that in mind, she made the call. “Garrus... you ready for this?”

“Already got my gear. Heading for the airlock now.” his dual-toned voice came smooth across her comm.

“You know me too well.” she murmured over that private link.

“You say that like it's a bad thing.” he huffed a laugh.

The door opened a moment later behind her and seven feet of heavily armored turian stepped in. It was somewhat jolting to see him decked out in black armor with red lights at key points. Even the lens of his helmet seemed to glow faintly red. She frowned at the slight limp before the Normandy's airlock bumped and clanged as it locked with the docking tube.

“Alright.” Shepard said as the midsection of the airlock finally opened. She began walking at brisk pace, Tali and Garrus keeping up to either side of her. “Once we're aboard, we find whatever's broadcasting that Reaper signal and shut it down.”

“Since Tali's our expert in geth software, she should handle the hacking and security here.” Garrus said firmly.

“Right. When we run into Reaper tech, you'll have to take over.” Tali nodded at Garrus.

“Good to have you back, Tali. Maybe... with another dextro onboard, we'll get better turian food.” Garrus snarked.

Shepard glared back at him on that one and received a snort as he nodded at her. She could not see his face through that helmet, but she was aware of the joke. The stuff the Alliance allocated them for dextro rations was terrible and she knew it.

“As long as it's sterilized.” Tali nodded at him.

“Dr. Michel _did_ get me some dextro chocolate. You're welcome to some of it, once we're back.” Garrus offered with a faint purr.

“She got you turian chocolate?” Tali asked, the shock was clear in her voice.

“She said she saw it and thought of me. Why?” Garrus sounded almost as if he had no clue.

Tali chuckled and patted Shepard's elbow. “Watch yourself, Shepard.”

“Really, Garrus? You don't know why she's sending crates of dextro chocolate every few months...” Shepard grumbled.

“Well... there _was_ that time I saved her life, but...” he snarked.

“Uh-huh. She's got a crush on you, lover.” Shepard snorted.

“Uh... oh... _oh_... damn. I never thought of it like that.” he stood up a little straighter at that before his helmeted head bobbed slightly toward the commander. “Well, I... guess... I should tell her I'm already bonded.”

“Wait! _Bonded?_ You _bosh'tets_ got _bonded_ and didn't _tell_ me?” Tali snapped and smacked his arm hard enough to jar him.

“Uh... you were... you know...” Garrus stammered.

Shepard shook her head with a laugh. “Yeah, Liara's planning something to celebrate when we're sure we can get everybody in one place.”

“Liara... oh _keelah_.... you're letting _Liara_ plan your reception?” Tali whined.

“Shepard, there is a problem. All tubes except one are physically secured.” EDI's voice interrupted.

“I see the free one. Pretty torn up though.” came Joker's voice a second later.

Shepard looked back to her team. She knew this was going to be bad. Memories of that catwalk on Omega came pouring back in. This could be so much worse. If the tube broke apart and started drifting, any one of them could be lost to the void. Her heart was beginning to pound at the thought of walking out there. Memories of being spaced tumbled over those of Omega and she nearly choked. _Get a grip,_ _ **Commander**_ _! You have a mission to complete and a war to win! There's no time for anxiety or fear!_ She raged at herself and clamped that 'commander mask' down over those raging emotions.

She locked her eyes to the face-plate of her bondmate's helmet with a steadying breath. “Too risky for the whole team.”

“Shepard...” he grumbled.

Ignoring the warning tones of his voice and sub-harmonics, she continued. “I'll secure the docking area. Everyone else can follow me over.”

“Roger that, Commander. We'll just stay here – you know – quietly.” Joker grumbled over the comm.

“Hang tight. It'll just be a minute.” Shepard said, her voice sounding brittle to her own ears.

“You sure this is a good idea?” Garrus asked as he followed her a short distance forward.

“We don't have a lot of choices here.” Shepard said and shook her hands out before heading toward that outer airlock.

“I could go. Mag-boots are standard in all turian armor.” Garrus suggested.

“No...” Shepard said softly before glancing back at him. “Secure your helmet.”

Before he had a chance to stop her, she hit the button and opened the outer airlock. She knew his helmet was already secure. Tali's suit could withstand nearly any environment. There was no need to worry about either of them. She stepped through and the airlock sealed behind her, cutting off any further debate.

“Well _this_ was such a good idea....” Shepard breathed a whisper as she looked out at the shattered docking tube and the void beyond.

At first, she saw no way across the gap before her. Then she glanced down at her boots, realizing she was already secured to the metal through magnetism. She turned her head, tracing her eyes along the gash in the tube. They stopped on an expanse above her that crossed the divide. If she had been planetside, this would have proven impossible, but she was in freefall, caught between the gravity wells of Rannoch's sun and a trillion other stars in the void.

Turning, she virtually walked up the round of the tube as if it were a hamster wheel. When she came to the sound section, she crossed over to the next huge hole and looked out toward the battle beyond. The dreadnaught blotted out half of Rannoch's sun to her view.

“No wonder the quarians were in trouble. That ship is _enormous_.” she breathed loud enough to be heard over the comm.

“It is 30% larger than an Alliance dreadnaught.” EDI provided.

“Yeah, thanks for that...” Shepard grumbled as she continued forward. She made it maybe ten steps before glancing to her left at the planet beyond. “Tali, you're gonna like the view.”

“Better than a vid?” the quarian asked.

“Much.” Shepard confirmed. This walk was not so bad after all. There was just enough structure around her to stave off the anxiety jangling just below the surface.

The commander came to another impasse and started up to the right again. Glancing out the hole, she saw the Normandy gleaming in Rannoch's sun. It was a thing of beauty. Home. She realized it had been for awhile now.

As she moved, she noticed sparks and jets of some sort of atmospheric gas spouting from some of the hoses around her. It was enough to unnerve her, but not enough to stop her and she continued. The tube shook and vibrated with every step in some places.

“Everything alright, Shepard?” the concern in the turian's tone was clear even if his sub-harmonics did not carry over the airwaves well.

“The lack of gravity's a little _disorienting_.” she was not able to keep the slight anxious tone out of her voice.

“That dreadnaught has artificial gravity.” Tali supplied, a note of concern creeping into her voice as well.

“You just have to make across, ma-kee-sa.” Garrus purred smoothly.

Shepard was sure that if she could hear all of the tones the airwaves missed, she would hear anxiety vibrating through his words. He and Tali had both been on the SR-1 when the Collectors took her down. She knew Garrus had watched her struggle and flatline out in the void, helpless to do anything to save her. Tali had heard the shrieks and rumbles of his keening sub-harmonics in those moments. She had a fair idea of what that sounded like. She had watch _Fleet and Flotilla_ and heard the keening tones of a grieving turian. It was not much of a stretch to imagine hearing those same kinds of tones from her bondmate over her. She did not want to put him through that again.

“Till then, I'll make due with mag-boots.” Shepard sighed as she thumped along that shattered tube.

“Hey, take your time, Commander. We're _fine_ until they, you know, look out a window.” Joker snarked.

“Geth don't use windows, remember? Structural weakness.” Shepard shot back, silently thanking her crew for distracting her from this walk.

“Like the geth are just sittin' there saying: 'Those organics would never try the no-windows thing twice'.” Joker laughed.

“Riiiight... because the geth don't systematically over analyze everything in their path.” Garrus stated quietly.

Shepard huffed a laugh at that as she kept moving past debris that floating within the tube. She was getting close to that airlock now. Just a few more feet. She heard it before she ever felt it, the grind of metal as her section of tube pulled away from the rest. Her heart was hammering wildly, alarms in her suit screaming at the sudden spike as she made a grab for the brackets sticking out of the section still attached to the ship. The second her hands caught, she kicked away from the tube in freefall and hauled herself into the secured segment. Her mag-boots locked in place seconds later and she looked behind her.

Letting out a calming breath, she watched the docking tube drift toward the Normandy and barely miss her. The alarms had ceased and her heart rate was returning to something approaching normal now that her feet were firmly beneath her again. Shaking her head, she realized she never wanted to spacewalk again.

“Looks like the rest of the team isn't usin' the docking tube.” Shepard breathed as she watched it drift past her ship.

“So I'm guessing you'd rather _not_ solo the dreadnaught.” Joker cracked.

“Not if I can help it.” the commander gave him a slight sing-song tone as she tried to steady her nerves. A moment later, she turned toward the airlock. “Ask Tali to get on the dreadnaught schematics. If she can point me at another docking tube, I'll override the controls and let the boarding party on.”


	71. Entering the Dreadnought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The snark is strong in her team. Shepard realizes Tali and Garrus are trying to see who can out snark who as they move deeper into the dreadnought.

Turning back toward the enormous airlock, Shepard waited for it to open. The wait felt like hours. In reality, it was only seconds.

“Releasing mag-locks... now. The airlock should be opening, Shepard.” came Tali's faintly dual-toned voice.

Shepard stood her ground, hoping her mag-boots had a secure enough purchase on the metal beneath her to hold through the storm of pressure she knew must be coming. As the mag-locks released, the airlock cycled open with just a slight depressurization around the locks themselves. She had almost forgotten that the geth did not need atmosphere. _But they do need gravity._

The second that airlock was open, she stepped through it, glad to be inside a ship again. The airlock closed behind her an instant later. The relief was almost palpable.

“I'm inside... and I've got gravity again.” she let that relief color the tone of her voice shamelessly.

“Great.” Tali's voice came crisply through her comm. There was a thoughtfully distant tone in her voice as she continued. “I'm looking for... got it. There should be a hull breach not far from your position. The nearest undamaged docking tube is on the other side.”

Shepard looked around, but saw only minor damage before her. When she looked up, she spotted the hull breach. “I think I found that hull breach you mentioned.”

“Admiral Gerrel tried a frontal assault. We lost six frigates. That _tiny_ hole was the only damage we did.” Tali sounded exasperated.

From her position, the commander realized it might well be big enough to fly a shuttle through. There was a measure of skepticism in her voice as she traced the outline of that hole with her eyes. “I wouldn't call it tiny. Not the way you'd have done it?”

“No. he was too aggressive. I argued, but... as admiral of the heavy fleet, it was ultimately his decision.” Tali said in a nearly breathless tone of frustration.

“Hmm... what about the other admirals?” Shepard asked as she squatted down to drop to the level below the damaged walkway.

“Xen backed the invasion, largely to test her new toys. Raan gave provisional support. Only Koris opposed the war with me. And he was right. We could lose the whole fleet, Shepard.” Tali sounding as she were on the edge of desperation.

“We'll get your people out of here safely, Tali.” Shepard promised. She meant to see it happen no matter what she had to do to achieve that goal.

The walkways were a mess. That frontal assault had done more damage than the quarians had thought. Whatever they had hit the dreadnought with, it had blown through this section like a bomb. She found herself forced to climb and drop as if she were working gymnast bars. It was tiring to say the least.

Finally, she saw a section of flooring that appeared undamaged. There were consoles lining the back edge that still had power. It did not take her long to sort out an easier path to a ladder leading to the level above. There was damage on that level too. An entire walkway leading to another airlock was completely obliterated. She worked her way around a section of crinkled flooring and headed toward the right. There was a door leading to another section of the ship at the end of that walkway.

As she moved toward it, the whole place seemed to shake. The sound of steal grinding against steal screamed into being an instant before a section of the floor fell away. She had barely jumped back fast enough to avoid going with it.

“This is not what I signed on for.” Shepard grumbled to herself as she investigated the gap between herself and that door.

There was a thin strip of flooring jutting out from the wall below that door. The gap was maybe five feet across. She knew she could make it as she took a couple of steps back. What worried her as she stepped into the running jump, was the fact that the strip of floor did not seem to be anchored to anything. She did not give herself time to embrace that concern as she leaped across the gap. Her momentum carried her face first into the door with a grunt. She was glad of the protection of her helmet in those seconds of regaining her balance.

The grating beneath her feet groaned and she hurriedly worked with the door lock. It opened easily enough and she stepped inside a short corridor just as that grating fell away. “Not going back that way.”

Another door stood only a few feet from her location. She stepped up to it and accessed the door lock. An odd tone sounded only seconds before it opened that put her on high alert. Some part of her worried she may have set off some kind of alarm as she stepped through it.

There were wires scattered everywhere in this room. Reaper wiring, she suspected. Given that this ship was broadcasting a Reaper signal, it would not have surprised her. There was a ladder leading up to a platform with a console in the middle. She took that up and found herself staring at the airlock just below.

“I've found another airlock. I think we're good to go.” Shepard said as she laid her hands on that console.

“Great.” Tali breathed.

“We'll head your way as soon as you override the controls.” Garrus hummed. His voice was a balm to her half fried nerves.

She was no tech, but she knew her way around access codes. This one was relatively simply. The geth used binary code in most of their programming. It was just a matter of 0's and 1's – yes and no. It took longer than she expected, but she finally got the airlock to release.

“Got it. You're clear to board.” she said into the comm sounding highly satisfied with herself.

The airlock opened and Garrus was the first one through, Tali close behind. The quarian stopped and looked around in awe. The turian stopped just below the platform and tilted his head to the side slightly.

“See any action?” he asked, the tone of his voice and sub-harmonics rumbling in mischief.

“Not yet.” Shepard gave him a slightly seductive tone as she shifted her weight. “I'm sure you can help me with that.”

Tali climbed up the ladder with an almost scolding look at both of them. “Here, let me see if I can this door open. In the meantime, take a look at this.”

Shepard huffed a faint laugh and she heard Garrus snickering, the modulating tones of his sub-harmonics thrumming with mirth. He was clearly enjoying tweaking Tali's sensibilities. She wondered if he knew the quarian had a crush on him. It was as obvious as the mask over her face to just about everyone. Garrus, however, was likely oblivious to it.

Looking over the weapon Tali had set down on the console beside her, Shepard nodded in approval. An Arc Pistol, it would come in handy. Garrus had his Scorpion and now she had something very similar.

“There, it's open.” Tali said proudly as she glanced their way. The walkway to the next door extended across from their level.

“That was fast.” Shepard said as she glanced at the quarian woman.

“I know my way around geth tech.” there was a smile of satisfaction in Tali's voice, of that, Shepard had no doubt.

“This looks impressive.” Shepard indicated the 'new toy'.

“It's Admiral Xen's design. It transmits an energy pulse on contact that disrupts shields and synthetics.” Tali hummed happily as she headed for the next console.

“That'll be handy.” Shepard nodded and tucked it into a spare holster.

“How come I don't get a new gun?” Garrus purred from behind her.

“Couldn't fine one in your _size_.” Tali said innocently.

Shepard chuckled at that. “Don't let him jerk your chain. He got a 'new toy' on Omega. Mordin left him a Scorpion in his old clinic.”

“A Scorpion? Those are... very destructive. See, now I don't feel so bad.” Tali snickered.

“Hmmm..” the turian grumbled slightly and Shepard let out a faint giggle.

The second Tali was finished with the console, she turned back toward the rest of the team. Shepard eyed her for a moment. The girl was first, she would give her that.

“So where are we headed?” the commander asked after a moment.

“We're looking for an operations center. I can disable the Reaper commander signal from there.” Tali stated. The look in her eyes told Shepard she was a little disturbed by her current surroundings. It was understandable.

“Any idea where the closest one is?” Shepard watched the door open before them.

“Past their defense network and through a sensor cluster.” Tali answered in a matter of fact tone.

“Sounds like a walk in the park.” Garrus snarked, his sub-harmonics thrumming in conflicting tones.

“If you're a geth, maybe...” Shepard said, glancing back at him. She could just pick out the mild anxiety mingled with humor in those tones. Something told her that she should not be able to distinguish any of it.

“Never said it would be a leisurely walk.” he snorted and stopped before that doorway.

“Gah... vents... Always the vents.” Tali groaned.

“You did fine at the Collector base.” Shepard reminded her.

“I got set on fire!” Tali snapped.

“But... you weren't in the tube with Legion.” Garrus said sounding a little cautious.

“No, I was too close to the tube when someone released a valve. It vented a vapor that ignited the oxygen around me.” she growled, giving him a scathing look.

“I thought the black hood was just a new look.” Garrus sounded as if he were desperately trying not to laugh as they moved through that door.

“It burned off all my _hair!_ ” Tali all but wailed.

“You have hair?” the turian sounded genuinely curious now.

“Of course I have hair, you bosh'tet! What else do you think would fill out my hood like this?” she growled at him as she pushed the puffed out part of her hood up slightly and released it before moving off toward a console ahead of them.

“I... uh... I don't know. I thought maybe you were... like... the asari.” he stammered and wiggled his fingers up near his helmeted fringe.

“Ugh... have you even watched _Fleet and Flotilla_? Shalei took her mask off and pulled her hood down to kiss Bellicus... just once. The actress was sick for a month.” Tali growled even as she looked the next console over. Glancing back at him, she pointed to her hood. “She had hair under here.”

“Riiiight... forgot about that.” Garrus snickered, the lie creating a 'crackle' through his sub-harmonics in a range Shepard could clearly hear.

They closed on the 'reactor' behind the console and Shepard noticed the turian staring up at it. The electrical surges around it were enough to light his face through the T-shaped lens in his helmet. His eyes were wide as he examined it.

“GUARDIAN antifighter lasers, looks like they're using ultraviolet frequencies... like the salarians.” he said thoughtfully as he seemed to realize the others were looking to him for whatever he knew about the devise.

“Expensive. Bet it gives them an edge in close combat, though.” Shepard grumbled as she followed his line of sight once more.

“When the fleet rushed the dreadnought, those lasers carved right through our ships.” Tali said, backing away from the console as if burned.

“Then we should get to the ops center before they lose more.” the commander nodded.


	72. The Operations Center

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreadnought is huge. Tali only hopes they can shut that Reaper signal down before the entire quarian fleet is destroyed.

Tali followed Shepard around the GUARDIAN reactor to another console controlling a bridge. She stepped up to it and hacked through the geth garbage codes to extend it. So far, this excursion seemed far too easy. She glanced behind her at the commander and the turian with a tiny pang of jealousy. Pushing that aside, the quarian stepped to the edge of the walkway and watched the bridge.

The sound was subtle and indistinguishable at first, but the second the bridge had locked into place, it was unmistakable. Tali's eyes snapped up to the trio of geth rounding a corner just ahead. Raising her shotgun, she let out a breath of intense anxiety. One tear in her suit could mean an illness that would end her.

“Watch out! Geth incoming!” the quarian shouted as she ducked into cover.

“Crap! They've got rocket launchers!” Garrus barked as he dove behind the console in a clatter of armor.

Tali peeked around the railing she had ducked behind and saw one raise the weapon in question up. Her eyes widened when she saw it aiming for Shepard's location. “Shepard! Slide back!”

The words were barely out of her mouth before the rocket hit the flooring just before the commander. It was close, too close. She was sure Shepard was feeling the heat from it.

“Concussive shot ready!” Garrus barked.

Tali glanced his way and her breath caught when she saw the blue glowing heat syncs in his hand. He raised up momentarily and lobbed them at the geth with a grunt. They went flying overheard in a flicker of biotic energy. The instant they bounced on the grating before the geth troopers, they exploded blue-white.

“Since _when_ are you a _biotic_ , Garrus?” Tali hissed as bits and pieces of geth rattled across the floor.

“Hmm... since... around fifteen.” he answered with a shrug.

“You _bosh'tet_... keeping secrets from your friends!” she grumbled as she stepped out of cover to move onward.

“Stay sharp! More on the way!” Garrus yelled when she moved farther away from them.

Half growling at the sight of the geth she had not seen advancing, Tali threw herself into cover once more. She mentally kicked herself for not noticing them sooner. Clearly the turian had sharper eyes or his helmet was equipped with long range sensors. Glancing his way, she wondered if it was even possible for him to be wearing his visor under that. It occurred to her that she had never seen him without it. _How weird would that be?_

“I don't hear an alarm!” Shepard yelled over the noise the geth were creating.

“They're geth! They sent an alert to every unit on the ship!” Tali snapped in frustration. It only took one geth to alert an entire ship, and milliseconds to sound that alert. “We need to get to the operations center before they box us in!”

There were bullets flying everywhere as they made their way from cover to cover. The moment they had a clear shot, Shepard ran for a ladder and slid down it. Tali followed her, Garrus simply dropping from one level to the one below beside that ladder. She envied his turian structure then even when she noticed the slight limp. Quarians might have an extra joint in their legs that most humanoids did not have, but turians were better built for war.

There were consoles on this level as well... and more geth. Tali ducked down behind the bank of consoles the second Shepard pointed to her eyes then at the geth down the corridor. It had not noticed them as of yet.

“They're throwin' their lives away!” the commander grumbled as she took it down with her sniper rifle.

Tali's brows raised at the gun in Shepard's hands. _When did she learn to use_ _ **that**_ _?_ The last she had know, Shepard was still using pistols almost exclusively when she was not slinging those flashy biotics around.

“Networked intelligence! As we _kill_ them, their attacks become even _more_ aggressive.” Tali reminded her.

Garrus darted forward and took cover closer to the geth pouring from deeper within the ship. He seemed intent on getting in as close as he could before lobbing more of those biotic charged heat syncs. That was not something she was used to seeing either out of their resident sniper. He usually hung back, waited for the perfect shot and then blew the bad guys head off his shoulders. This new Garrus was fascinating and positively lethal.

“Disable their shields!” Shepard shouted as blast after blast barely missed her.

“And don't give them time to recharge!” Garrus called from ahead.

“Go get 'em, Chikktika!” Tali almost laughed as she sent her drone out to short circuit as many geth shields as it could.

“Spirits... I hate the sound that thing makes.” Garrus grumbled as he grabbed one geth platform from behind and ripped the wires out of its neck.

Tali snickered. She had missed his complaints about her drone more than she cared to admit. At first they had annoyed her, now she thought it was probably the best complement he could give her. The drone zipped back to her after the last geth shorted out and fell.

“It's ok, Chikktika. He doesn't mean it. You just resonate on his sub-harmonic frequencies the wrong way.” she crooned at the drone just to annoy him.

Shepard moved forward quickly and staggered back with a cry of pain as something she had stepped on sent a burst of red electrical energy surging up her form. It lasted seconds only and the commander had shaken it off before the turian reached her. He was reluctant to touch her for several eternal seconds after the surge dissipated.

“Shepard?” he asked cautiously as she staggered to the railing and leaned on it for a moment.

“I'm alright. Watch for mines. Seems like the geth set booby-traps.” she grumbled.

The next room they entered housed another bank of consoles. These were scrolling status reports, power output grids and signal signatures. The graphs were showing the amount of control the Reapers were exerting.

Shepard recognized it too as she stepped forward and started pointing out certain sections. “Look, the signal's hitting all geth platforms. The Reapers have them _completely_ under control.”

“They're little more than slaves.” Garrus practically snarled as he stomped up to the console.

“We've tried jamming it, hacking it, and piggybacking garbage data to corrupt it. Nothing worked.” Tali said sadly. She was thinking of Legion. Somehow, the programs within that platform had become her friend, in a sense.

“Blowing the source of the signal will put a stop to it.” Garrus grumbled and headed for the next door. He stopped at the next bank of consoles and tapped a couple of keys curiously. “Got some sensor data here, but it's all gibberish to me. Tali, can you make sense of it?”

stepping up beside him, she looked at the holo-screens and nodded. “These are sensor sweeps of the battle. We're taking heavy losses. The geth have a planetary defense cannon. It's ripping through our fleet.”

“Is there anything we can do to help them?” Shepard asked.

Tali sighed and shook her head. “Just make their sacrifice worthwhile.”

Shepard nodded at her, putting a hand to her shoulder before stepping past toward that door. Tali looked up at the turian's unreadable helmet as he nodded. She thought of Kal'Reegar for a moment then, so much like Garrus in many ways. _Maybe I should find him when this is all over_.

When the door opened and Shepard passed through it, she seemed to be looking at the next room of consoles thoughtfully. “Why do we need to find the operations center? Wouldn't any access console do?”

“No. anything we do here, the geth will counter. Too many fault checks and redundancy levels for what we need to do.” Tali answered. She had thought this question might come up considering the nature of the geth.

“Alright, so we keep moving.” Shepard nodded and continued toward the next door.

“I feel like that fuzzy little ruekla of yours when you put him in that maze.” there was uneasiness in Garrus' voice.

“What's a ruekla?” Tali asked.

“I'm guessing it's the turian version of a rodent... probably a rat. Gary is a hamster, babe, not a rat.” Shepard sighed sounding somewhat uneasy herself. “But I know what you mean. I feel like a rat trapped in a maze too.”

“The problem with this 'maze' are the 'surprises' around every corner.” Tali groused.

“I'm not big on those kinds of surprises.” Garrus grumbled, his sub-harmonics thrumming his unease in a deeper tone.

“Hm... what's this?” Shepard asked quizzically as she stepped close to something gleaming under the edge of a crate. She squatted and picked it up.

“That... looks like a geth pulse rifle.” Tali breathed excitedly.

“You're our geth expert, think you can handle it?” Shepard asked as she offered to her.

“ _Keelah_...” Tali breathed as she accepted the weapon from Shepard.

“I take it that's a yes.” there was a smile in the commander's voice.

“Absolutely.” Tali nodded as she turned the weapon over once. Within the next heartbeat, she had taken proper hold of it, checked the heat sync and flicked off the safety. It surprised her that it even had a safety.

Shepard nodded and continued toward that door. When she touched the access, it turned orange, locked. The commander looked to her for a solution.

“The dreadnought's operation center is just ahead.” Tali said as she stepped up to the door and began hacking.

“Good.” Shepard sounded tired as she let out a breath. “Let's cut the Reaper signal and get the fleet out of here.”

The second the door slid open, Shepard took point and ran into the room with her pistol drawn and her hand glowing with biotic energy. The sound of gunfire forced them all into cover. They all saw it a split second before it cloaked.

“The hunters are moving in!” Tali snapped as she darted forward and took cover behind some sort of conduit.

“These things are a pain in the ass!” Garrus growled as he pulled his sniper rifle from his back. He tapped a couple of buttons on the scope and scanned the immediate area. Barely a breath later and he fired at a distortion in the air near Shepard. The geth dropped, cloak sizzling. “Couldn't hide from that!”

Shepard was picking them off right and left. Tali was taking potshots at anything that moved beyond her team. She even sent the drone out to fry whatever it could.

“Watch your six! At least one hunter still active!” Garrus barked from his place across the room.

Shepard threw out a singularity in a seemingly random direction. It caught the hunter just as Chikktika shorted out its stealth system. The geth floated in the air for a couple of minutes before the singularity imploded.

“That's the last of them. Let's see if that console's operational.” Tali said even as she stepped out of cover and headed toward it. She ran up the ramp to it and was hitting keys before she had even stopped. “ _Dammit!_ They've locked down the Reaper signal. We can't shut it down from here.”

“So we go to the source.” Garrus suggested.

“Any idea where that is?” Shepard grumbled softly.

“Uh... no.” he shook his head.

“There!” Tali said excitedly as she pointed out the read block in the holographic hull of the dreadnought hanging over the projector in the center of the room. “The signal's coming from the drive core.”

“Makes sense. The drive core is the most heavily shielded section of most ships... at least by turian design.” Garrus nodded as he slung his sniper rifle onto his back and drew his assault rifle.

“It's a universal design. The trouble is getting there. The geth have sealed the emergency bulkheads to seal us in.” Tali thumped the base of the console beneath the holo-controls in irritation.

“Then we need to find an alternate route.” Shepard leaned on the conduit beside the console and stared at the holographic dreadnought.

“....the battery....” Garrus mumbled thoughtfully.

“You're onto something there. The main battery runs right by the drive core... there.” Shepard pointed toward the hologram.

Tali pulled up the diagram and overlaid it in red. She nodded reluctantly. “That could work.”

“They can't block it... not during a fight.” Garrus nodded as he turned toward the door leading out of the ops center.

“We need to get these doors open.” Tali grumbled as she looked to the doors in question. Running through the algorithms, she made several notes verbally. “They've locked high level processes. We need something basic... a ship-wide emergency, like a fire...”

“Hmm...” Garrus hummed clearly in thought. “What.... about the heat diffusion system? Every ship has to have a way to vent the heat away from the drive core and weapons. What if we tricked the system... faked a thermal warning...”

“It would open all the maintenance tubes for emergency venting!” Tali caught onto his train of thought quickly. She liked where he was going with this.

“Would that override the lockdown?” Shepard asked, clearly hoping it was the solution they were looking for.

“Yes.” Tali said sharply as her hands flew over the keys. After a moment, she glanced up. “Ok, I've got it primed. But be ready. I'm reading hostile geth on the other side of the doors.”

The second those doors opened, bullets began zinging by. Shepard had already taken cover behind the console. Tali had followed suit.

“Watch out, they're moving in!” Garrus barked as a bullet barely missed his head.

“There could be cloaked hunters here as well!” Tali felt her anxiety rising as she activated her drone.

As Chikktika buzzed past them, she noticed Garrus' head twitch slightly. At least he was squatted down and shielded by some railing. She had not realized it affected him so much.

“Not anymore.” Shepard growled as she took the cloaked geth down with the weapon Tali had given her earlier.

“Heads up! More on the way!” Garrus rumbled as he sniped a few here and there.

“ _Keelah!_ ” Tali gasped as a hunter materialized right between her and Shepard.

Shepard was on her feet in an instant, biotic energy engulfing her hand. With a yell, she thrust that hand at the hunter and it went flying in a biotic burst, short circuiting before it hit the floor. Tali nearly choked on her own tongue at the show of raw power. The commander had never been that strong back on the SR-1.

The human turned and saw the two geth just below the turian's position. With a yell and a flash of biotic power, she seemed to disappear and reappear between them. Her fist came down on the floor and they were thrown to either side in another massive biotic blast.

“But... she's not a Vanguard...” Tali's voice was barely above a whisper.

“Cerberus did that.” Garrus' voice came from close by her right ear even as he picked off another geth trooper with his assault rifle. His words dwindled down to something closer to a whisper of fear. Not for himself, but his mate. “There's more... the power she's able to tap now... it's... uh... it's... well... it's... _terrifying_....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruekla - a plated turian rodent - similar to a rat.


	73. Into the Battery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is finding the geth dreadnought far too artificial for his liking.

The last geth trooper went down under the turian's rifle and he stood, secure in the knowledge that the room was clear. His mandibles flicked at Shepard when she glanced his way and remembered she could not see them through his helmet, so he nodded. He was still sore from Omega even after more than three weeks, but he was not about to let Shepard run through this ship without him. No one else could anticipate her movements like he could. A few had tried while he was 'MIA' on Omega, but none were as attuned to her as he was. He just wished she would stop taking so many risks lately. The increasing power of her biotics seemed to fueling her increased recklessness. True, she had always taken point, something no Adept in their right mind would do, but lately it seemed as if she were taking it as a personal challenge.

“We need to get to the maintenance shaft before more reinforcements arrive!” Tali all but yelled, breaking him out of his momentary lapse of thoughts.

As they moved into the corridor leading to the maintenance shaft, Garrus took note of the differences between this and the ships he had served on over the years. This was way off base to what he was used to. The contours, he had never seen anything like it.

“I've served on _a lot_ of ships, but nothing like this. The contours are all off. It's not built for organics.” he observed with a grumble as he moved through that corridor.

“The geth aren't organic.” Tali reminded him.

“No, but they were built by organics, modeled after them. This just feels... I don't know...” he continued glancing around at the conduits and walls.

“Artificial...” Tali supplied.

“Yeah.” he nodded.

“Shouldn't be too much farther to the main battery.” Shepard nodded, sidestepping a burst of steam from an overhead pipe. “I'm surprised they'd send you on this mission, Tali.”

“Even admirals are expected to serve. I'm better at hacking than ordering ships around.” Tali enlightened them both.

Garrus had been wondering the same thing. Shepard had just beat him to the question in a somewhat more eloquent way. He realized with a flick of a mandible that he might simply have blurted the question.

“Yeah... against an enemy dreadnought, your combat drone would just... float there making that... _noise_.” Garrus drawled. _Spirits, that noise. The chirps and clicks aren't so bad, but that buzzing... the sub-harmonic vibrations... they're like razor sharp talons slicing through the top of my fringe. Worse now with the cybernetic ears._

“I missed you too, Garrus.” Tali all but purred.

Shepard motioned Tali forward toward the door with a nod. The geth had locked them out and Garrus knew he could not hack geth code. It took the quarian barely a minute to release the lock. The instant the door was open, Shepard moved through it cautiously, pistol at the ready.

This next room seemed made up of several levels, an octagon of platforms with little to no railing between them and a very long fall. Garrus had never been particularly afraid of heights, but even that sight gave him a moment of pause. Aside from the hum of engines and electronics, he still thought the whole place was a little too quiet between battles. _No chatter, no movement... no organics and that's the problem_ , he realized.

They made their way around the upper level, shielded by random fragments of railing, to a ladder. Shepard slid down it first and stepped aside for them. He watched as Tali went down next. The drop would be too far with his spur in its current condition so he opted to take the ladder as well.

The moment his feet hit the deck plates of the next level, he noticed the servers at the edge of the walkway. “How many geth programs do you suppose those hold?”

“Millions.” Tali said shortly.

“Spirits... good thing they can't see us.” he grumbled softly as he passed by one. Glancing along their path, he took note of at least three others. The numbers those servers held together were staggering.

Gauging the distance with the next ladder, Garrus simply dropped to the lower level while the women worked their way down. It hurt, but the leg held, the muscles supported by the spur flexing stiffly. It would take time to see the damage done under that bridge on Omega fully healed. The spur was more plate than bone and therefore harder to mend. Chakwas had made the attempt with the regenerator in the Normandy's medbay. It had not worked as well as she had hoped. That was one of the main reasons he had never opted to have her 'erase' his facial scars. They served as a reminder of his own stupidity as well.

Glancing Shepard's way, he realized they might well serve another purpose; a reminder of how fragile life could really be. If he had never faced death so dramatically, he might never have had the nerve to cross the line of professionalism with his bondmate. She might never have realized what she felt for him either. In many ways, it still stunned him how far they had come and close they had grown.

“ _Dammit!_ ” Tali breathed as she opened her omni-tool on one side of the ladder. “Priority message: a planetary defense cannon just took down Admiral Koris' ship!”

“Survivors?” Shepard asked sounding almost skeptical of the idea.

“They got to escape pods... and I've got Admiral Raan trying to establish a secure link.” Tali confirmed even as she tapped a couple of keys on her omni-tool.

“Put her through.” the commander ordered.

“Shepard, this is Raan. The Heavy Fleet is collapsing. I don't know how much longer we can hold out.” the admiral's breathy voice came over the comm sounding almost desperate.

“We'll have the Reaper signal deactivated shortly, Admiral.” Shepard assured her.

Rather than take the ladder, Shepard simply dropped to the next level and stepped into a run toward the door on that level. Garrus raised his brow-plates at that. She was tough, he knew. Nearly as tough as a turian, but there were limits to the abuse her joints could take.

Like most of the ship, this door lead through a short corridor with another door. The sound behind that door froze Garrus in his tracks for several heartbeats. He knew that sound; the thrum of the battery reactor charging. The trouble was, it sounded as if it was thrumming through the entire batter and not just the reactor core. That could be a problem, he realized.

Shepard made her way into the huge room along with Tali and he followed behind quickly. The stopped at a railing overlooking exactly what he had hopped not to see. The surge of energy thrummed passed them across the grating below, arching off the railing before them as it raced toward reactor core.

“ _Spirits.._.” Garrus whispered in awed shock. “This is bad... If we get caught in that surge...”

“It won't be pretty,” Shepard nodded and looked back at them. “So don't get caught in it.”

“Right.” he nodded, his mouth suddenly feeling drying that normal.

Shepard headed down the first ramp they came to and slipped quickly into cover just before a surge rushed by. “Watch the shockwaves! That's a big gun.”

“Hate to be in front of _that_ bastard!” Garrus snapped, realizing that as bad as the surgers were, the gun itself was far worse.

“We should be ok if we stay in cover!” Tali reassured them both.

There was a rhythm to this gun just as there was with the ones he was familiar with. He could hear the building of the surge before it broke. Waiting until the next surge had passed, he took point. The moment he was sure it was clear, he gave the signal for the team to advance. It was nearly second nature after his run on Omega. He was only glad his bondmate was willing to trade off and follow when it was necessary.

“Crap!” he barked when he saw them and dropped into cover.

“More incoming! I think they've figured out what we're doing!” Tali yelled as she followed his example.

“This is not a good place to be fighting these bastards!” Shepard stormed.

Garrus held up fist to stop the team in their tracks when he heard the telltale sound. The surge broke, racing toward them. His mouth and mandibles dropped as far as they could within his helmet when it surged around the geth. They were completely unaffected by it.

“That's.... that's _not_ possible!” he yelled even as he took a crack at one of them.

“They're _geth!_ They have advanced shielding!” Tali snapped.

Another sound carried to his enhanced hearing and his eyes widened when he found its source; aiming at Shepard. “Rocket trooper! _Shepard! Get down!_ ”

The human dropped onto her belly behind the girder she had taken cover behind. The rocket missed her by inches and exploded another girder a few feet away. Luckily it was low yield or it could have disastrous even at that distance.

Garrus let out a sigh of relief even as he picked off another trooper. He caught movement on a platform above and growled. “We've got enemies up above too!”

Tali sent her combat drone out and he snarled slightly at the razor's edge feeling its tones invoked. He realized that if he ever cross trained as a full tech, he might never be able to handle a drone. Firing at another trooper with his assault rifle, he saw Shepard reach toward one and lift her hand. The geth left the floor, hit the ceiling and slammed back into the grating hard enough to send parts flying. She was getting good at that skill.

“Crap...” Garrus breathed the second he heard that telltale sound again. “ _Take cover!_ ”

The surge raced toward them, bypassing the geth. Tali shrieked as she was thrown a good ten feet when it clipped her shoulder. He heard her groan a moment later.

“We need to shut it down!” Shepard shouted as she made her way to the downed quarian.

“The maintenance lock! That'll take it offline!” Garrus knew ships and he knew guns. A ship's gun could not fire if it was locked into maintenance mode.


	74. The Source

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biotic energy enveloped Shepard as she took a couple of running steps back up that ramp.

The geth just kept coming. Shepard was forced to put down four more troopers on her way to Tali. The quarian was down, lying on the floor at the bottom of a ramp. She knew the quarian was alive from the faint moans and movement. Beyond the obvious, she had no clue of her condition.

Glancing toward her bondmate, she realized he was pinned down, surrounded by troopers he was systematically picking off. With the accuracy of his shots, she knew with a decent amount of certainty, that he would be fine while she tended to Tali. She needed to know how badly wounded the girl was.

Tali whimpered slightly when she rolled her over. The quarian clutched at her arm and squinted her eyes at her. “It scorched my suit!”

Shepard looked the scorch marks on Tali's shoulder over, but she saw no tears in the durable fabric. Nodding, she gripped the girl's arm. “I don't see any tears. Do you have a suit rupture?”

“I... don't think so.” Tali said uncertainly as she sat up slowly.

Shepard glanced back in sudden worry when the area behind them went quiet. She let out the breath she had sucked in when she caught sight of Garrus making his way toward them. His limp was not as pronounced as it had been just after Omega, but it changed the sound of his footfalls a fraction. Right now, she thanked whatever higher power might listening for that change. She had learned the hard way that turian and geth footfalls sounded very similar.

“Tali ok?” there was deep concern in his dual-toned voice as he tucked himself against a bulkhead.

“I'm fine... if you don't count the scorched suit and the 1500 volts jolting through my nervous system.” Tali growled as she sat there getting her bearings for a moment.

A shot zinged past Garrus as he peeked around the corner and ducked back, head jerking slightly to his right. “Damn! More reinforcements!”

Shepard eyed him critically as she offered Tali a hand up. There was a new silvered stripe running from just above the lens of his helmet all the way to the edge of his covered fringe. Her heart thumped against her ribs at the obvious close call. Her eyes found the geth trooper responsible even as her eyebrows knitted together. The well of rage within her was all consuming in those first few seconds.

Biotic energy enveloped her as she took a couple of running steps back up that ramp. She did not care if the surge hit her. Shepard meant to take as many of those geth bastards out as she could before she was forced into cover again. Ducking and skidding to a halt between four of them, she allowed herself to fall down that well of power and rage for just the briefest of seconds.

The field start small and expanded rapidly. It passed through her, around her and exploded as she thrust her entire body upward. It was something she had seen Aria do on Omega. She had not been sure she could reproduce it until now. The geth around her slammed into the walls and bulkheads around her, virtually shattering into pieces on impact. It left her feeling drained as she rolled into cover just before the surge engulfed her.

“ _Keelah!_ ” she heard Tali breath in utter shock.

“There's the lock!” Garrus shouted as the others moved in closer to her.

Shepard watched the turian run toward it and look it over. He seemed desperate to activate it, his hands hovering over it. A heartbeat, that was all it took him to tap in a couple of keys and slam his hand down on the lever that emerged from the console. The gun powered down the second he jerked that lever down.

The sigh of relief was loud in the sudden silence as he stepped back from the console. “That'll buy us time. No way they'll fire with that maintenance lock in place.”

The commander stared down the tunnel that had opened up the second the turian had activated the maintenance lock. She knew that was practically the equivalent of the barrel of the gun. Running along that was not the most pleasant of ideas. Neither was it the best option, but it was the only shot they had.

“Let's move.” Shepard nodded at her team before stepping into it.

Jumping across a small gap, the whole place shook and Shepard grunted with the effort to maintain her balance. Her eyes widened at the electrical arcs jumping around up ahead as the 'barrel' began to turn. This was definitely not good.

“ _Dammit!_ They're too fast. Gun's coming back online. We have to go... _now!_ ” Garrus snapped as he followed the commander.

“Let's get outa here!” Shepard said breathlessly as she began to run.

The rings around the 'barrel' were moving, spinning faster as she ran. The electrical arcs growing more pronounced as they moved. They were advancing into a full spin by the time she jumped over the next gap and staggered onward. The words were barely more than a chanting breath inside her helmet as she pushed herself harder. “Almost there, almost there... just a little further...”

The light at the end of the tunnel was not what she would have called 'peaceful'. That was their deaths if they did not make it out of that 'barrel' soon. The thrum of the surge was already powering up as she veered off toward the left. Stopping, she made sure her team made it past first.

“Go!” she yelled as Garrus hesitated before her. She practically pushed him as the sound grew louder.

The second he was out of the way, the surge released and the 'barrel' began to close around it. She jumped out of the way seconds before it hit her. Rolling up against a barricade, she panted in relief.

“Cut that a little close!” Garrus snapped at her as he offered his hand.

Shepard nodded and took it, pulling him down beside her the second she heard that familiar thrum. “Always do.”

“Watch your shields! Stick to cover! The shockwaves are starting again!” Tali yelled as she dove for cover seconds before the surge rumbled through the room.

If she could have seen his face, she knew she would have seen his mandibles snapped tightly to his jaw. Garrus rarely miscalculated anything. He had miscalculated the timing on that surge. She patted his armored shoulder and pushed herself up to her feet. _Mortal, after all_. The thought road the heels of a faint chuckle.

Tali released her drone the second she saw more geth heading their way. Garrus was right, that thing made the most annoying noises. It vibrated right through her head like nails on a chalkboard. It had never done that on the SR-1. She suspected the cybernetics Cerberus had filled her full of must be enhancing her hearing. That had to be it. It had to be the reason she was beginning to hear his sub-harmonics so much clearer, even making out some of their meanings. She would ask him about it later, what affect the drone had on him.

There were geth everywhere and she was still feeling drained from that blast only a short while ago. Rather than let it hold her back, however, she threw out a shockwave. It felt like trying to burn through solid titanium. She staggered under the pull realizing it might be too soon to try that again.

There was a ladder not far from her and she slipped out of cover to make a dash for it. The geth hunter she had not seen up there nearly pushed her off the ledge the second she made the top. She grabbed the neckline of its chassis and punched her omni-blade through its chest with a grunt. As it dropped, she used it to counterbalance her own weight to prevent the backwards fall it had nearly caused.

The second she had her balance again, she was running toward the far end of that platform and the ladder leading down. She fired her pistol in rapid succession at the get troopers on the lower level, taking cover just as the surge released again.

Shepard barely waited for it to pass before she was firing on the remaining geth again. Garrus skidded into the space beside her and if she could have seen his face, she would have known he was giving her a hard look. They needed to get this done, now. She was on the edge of wiping out.

Dropping down to the next level, she did not bother with the ladder. Time was running out. She would collapse before they made it off the dreadnought at this rate. So she pushed herself harder, hitting one trooper with a biotic enveloped fist. That small amount of energy was not going to wipe her out any faster. The hunter she did not see took a swing at her and connected.

Staggering back with a grunt, she shook her had trying to dispel the star-field that had exploded before her eyes. Her ears were ringing from the hit as she stumbled into the bulkhead behind her. Before she could do more than raise her pistol to it's 'face', what passed for it's head exploded. Glancing up, she nodded to Garrus as he popped the heat sync from his sniper rifle.

Taking a left around the bulkhead, she ran up a ramp into a room with a few consoles. Her team was not far behind her as she found a door leading out. The surge did not reach this room and for that she was profoundly thankful. She could not have taken a hit from that at this point.

The door was locked and Tali stopped beside her to hack the geth software. The door opened on a steaming hallway with another door a short distance away. It opened easily enough and lead into another octagon room. This one held a lift at its center. No ladders to descend seemed like a blessing in disguise, but she knew her blessings. Sometimes they were curses, traps just waiting to spring.

Shepard waited for her team to take up positions on the lift before she activated it. Instead of heading down as she had thought it would, it shuddered and began ascending. She barely caught a glimpse of the geth running through the door below before she heard the shots. They took out the central support structure for the lift. It shorted out and pitched to the side just as her team stepped off.

“Shepard!” Tali yelled.

The platform of the lift pitched dangerously away from them, throwing her back from their level. It was moments like this that she wished she had talons like her turian bondmate. She might have gained a better purchase on the grating beneath her if she had.

“Grab my hands!” Garrus shouted as he laid himself out across the floor to counterbalance her weight.

Nodding, she pushed off the tilting lift and made a grab for him as the floor fell away beneath her. At first she thought she had missed and that this was going to be it for her. She was in freefall for several milliseconds before her right shoulder nearly jerked out of socket. Locking her eyes to his face-plate, she gasped in the realization that he had allowed part of his upper body to slip over the edge to catch her.

“I've _got_ you. I'm _not_ letting go.” there was strain in his voice as he reached down to take her other hand.

Tali was pulling at his armored cowl trying to drag him back up as he hauled Shepard up with him. The second he had enough leverage, he pulled her up enough that she could get a hand on the lip of the next level. The turian's large fingers got a grip on the back of her armor and hauled her up, rolling away from the edge with her. She found herself sprawled awkwardly on top of him and tapped her helmet against his.

“I'm alright...” she breathed. “I'm alright...”

climbing to her feet, she offered him a hand up. Once he was on his feet, she bent and put her hands on her knees, just breathing for a minute.

“Are we done with elevators? Because... I really don't want to go through _that_ again.” Tali said plaintively.

“We have to be getting close to the drive core.” Shepard nodded and stood once more. “Let's go.”

The next ladder they found took them up, surprisingly. The commander favored her right shoulder through most of that climb. The joint was throbbing, but better that, she realized, than becoming a red smear at the bottom of that lift. They made their way around to yet another door. If she were honest with herself, she was sick of seeing doors.

As it opened, it was obvious they had reached the drive core. It was similar in structure to that of the Normandy. She jogged toward the console below the core and looked it over.

“It's definitely Reaper tech, but what's...” she began as she poked a couple of keys. The words died in her throat as the 'core' began to open, blinding them with light. The gasp was sharp, the sight unexpected as the source of the signal was revealed.

“Shepard-Commander, help us.” Legion pleaded, tethered hand and foot within that sphere.

“Legion...” Shepard half whispered in disbelief as she stepped forward.


	75. Legion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The consensus was unanimous, Legion would assist the organics in any way it could.

“Good to see you, Legion. We'll have you out of there in no time.” the turian called Garrus Vakarian said sincerely.

“Shepard, wait.” Creator Zorah held up a hand. “The geth are being controlled by the Reaper signal.”

“Right. This thing.” Shepard-Commander waved a hand at the console before her.

“So for all we know, Legion is with them. Maybe it sided with the Reapers voluntarily. Or maybe it's hacked.” Creator Zorah cautioned.

Shepard-Commander shook her head in dismissal. “Legion helped us fight the Reapers before. There's no way it would have agreed to this.”

“You caution is understandable. Once freed, we will submit to any restraint you deem necessary.” Legion calculated the logic of Creator Zorah's caution. The programs within came to a nearly unanimous decision to submit to her fears in order to quarter her trust.

Creator Zorah took two slow steps forward, her eyes locked to this platform's optical sensor. “I never thought I'd say this, but... it's good to see you again.”

A flicker of something not quite logical sparked through a number of Legion's programs at her words. Without conscious control, the flaps shielding its optical sensors raised and lowered in response. “Likewise, Creator Zorah.”

“So... what is this thing?” Shepard-Commander asked as she indicated the device Legion's platform was connected to.

“It uses our networking architecture to broadcast the Old Machine's commander signal to all geth simultaneously.” Legion gave the simplest answer. There were approximately 1.00359 million answers with just as many processes being routed through it's network receptors, all codes from the Old Machines.

“Then... getting you out of there... will shut off the Reaper signal.” Shepard-Commander ascertained.

A rapid-fire flicker of warnings arced through a multitude of Legion's programs. “Wait. You cannot simply remove the restraints. We are secured via hardware blocks nearby that shackle our operating protocols. The hardware blocks are on the far side of the room.”

“Alright, we remove the blocks.” Shepard-Commander nodded before stepping toward the location Legion had indicated by the turn of it's optical sensor housing.

“That block's over here?” the turian asked as he neared one of the blocks.

“Yes. Deactivation should be simple. The geth protected them against viral attacks, not physical removal.” Legion stated as several programs seemed to buzz with what the organics might call anticipation. Freedom; that was the consensus of every program within it's platform.

“How'd the Reapers get control of the geth?” Shepard-Commander asked, her voice sounding suspiciously sharp.

“They did not. The creators attacked. The geth wished to live. The Old Machines extended an offer.” Legion answered the moment it's programs reached a unanimous consensus.

“So we rewrote the geth heretics... for what?” Garrus grumbled.

“Nothing, apparently.” Shepard-Commander snapped and gave Legion's platform a hard look.

“No, rewriting the heretics made the decision to ally with the Old Machines more difficult.” Legion supplied that answer as well. None of it's programs saw the logic in lying. It would not gain them the commander's trust. “Had the creators not attacked, it would have been unnecessary.”

“We'll have you out of there soon.” the commander stated.

“Sounds like they only joined the Reapers because the quarians attacked.” Garrus speculated.

“Nothing excuses an alliance with the Reapers. They could have found another way.” Creator Zorah snapped back at him.

Garrus let out a breath of clear frustration. “Some would say the same about turians curing the genophage and _allying_ with the krogan.”

“Dammit!” there was emotion in Creator Zorah's voice then that Legion had not expected. “I _begged_ them to negotiate _rather_ than attack. _I did...”_

“Let's just get Legion out of there.” Shepard-Commander was the voice of logic in the sudden chaos of Creator Zorah's decidedly emotional breakdown.

“Got it!” the turian's tone was sharp with success as he keyed in the last string of code.

“Tali'Zorah to Fleet. The signal is about to go offline.” Creator Zorah said into her comm.

“This is Admiral Han'Gerrel, we're in your debt.” came another creator's voice Legion did not recognize.

“Hardware blocks offline. We are free.” Legion had a momentary lapse of control within it's programs. Sparks and arcs of chaos jumbled together as the connections tethering it to the device blew free of it's chassis.

Dropping to it's feet on the device, it squatted as it was lowered to the next level. Once low enough, it dropped the rest of the way to the floor grating and looked up at Shepard-Commander's helmeted face. A moment later, it's attention was drawn to the pulse of energy above.

“ _Keelah!_ ” Creator Zorah gasped and shielded her eyes with her arm.

“As a gesture of cooperation, we have disabled the dreadnought's drive core. All weapons and barriers are offline.” Legion explained, the decision reached before it had even hit the floor below.

A rumble of activity could be heard in the corridors leading to the drive core seconds later. There were those programs that opposed this course of action. Legion scanned the area quickly as the organics above it took up their weapons. “Alert! Geth reinforcements incoming!”

“Crap...” Garrus breathed as several platforms dropped from the levels above.

“The geth fleet is disabled. The signal is offline.” came another creator's voice from Creator Zorah's comm.

“Watch out! That's a prime!” Creator Zorah gasped as she dodged for cover.

The female creator continued to update. “Civilian Fleet, prepare to withdraw. The Patrol Fleet will cover you once the Heavy Fleet is in position. Whenever you're ready, Admiral Gerrel.”

Legion's hearing receptors picked up every nuance of the battle above. Many of its programs forced twitches in their platform's servos from the enforced inaction. It wished to help the organics above.

“Good! Let's see what the quarians can do.” Garrus hooted.

Shepard-Commander's biotic discharges sent tiny currents of electricity through Legion's chassis. It found the experience intriguing. Bio-electrical discharge amplified by cybernetics further amplified by the device plugged into the back of her skull. It analyzed all available data on the human and came to a singular conclusion; her code was far superior.

“Done incoming.” Garrus called a moment before a gunshot sounded.

“I see it!” came Shepard-Commander's voice.

“It's setting up turrets...” the turian said in the same deadpan tone.

“Uh-huh.” Shepard-Commander answered.

“We... uh... we really need to do something about that.” Garrus said again.

“There's a prime in my way, lover!” Shepard-Commander's tone sounded frustrated now.

The unknown female creator's voice came across the comm again as Legion searched for a way up to the level the battle was taking place on. “Admiral Gerrel! _What_ are you doing?!”

“Raan, check your your screens! The dreadnought is helpless!” came Gerrel's voice, the excitement clear in his tone. “No barriers and no guns! We can removed their flagship if we strike now!”

“ _Dammit!_ This is our chance to withdraw the Civilian Fleet safely! We must retreat now!” Raan yelled.

“What are you talking about? We're still on board!” Creator Zorah yelled into her comm.

“We can't waste this chance! Heavy Fleet, all forward! Take out the dreadnought!” Gerrel ordered.

“Patrol Fleet! Hold position!” Raan commanded harshly.

“You do that, and the Heavy Fleet gets wiped out!” Gerrel's voice again.

Legion continued to look for a route up to them. It understood that if the creators fired on the dreadnought now, all within would be destroyed. Multiple programs within its platform were sounding alarms, urging the chassis to find a way, any way up to the organics. Escape, they needed to escape. The consensus was unanimous in that conclusion. It would sacrifice itself to ensure their escape if it must.

“And if we die, a simple retreat won't save you from the geth response!” Gerrel warned.

“ _Damn you, Gerrel!_ ” Raan snarled heatedly.

“Dammit! What are they doing?” Creator Zorah gasped even as she fired her shotgun.

“Um... blowing us up.” Garrus answered in obvious irritation.

“Focus on the geth! We'll worry about the admirals later!” Shepard-Commander snapped and slung a shockwave out at the platforms.

“Patrol Fleet, flanking support on the Heavy Fleet. Give them a firing lane.” came Raan's resigned voice.

“ _Keelah!_ They're really going to do it!” Creator Zorah breathed in disbelief.

Shepard-Commander's helmeted face appeared over the edge of the level above precisely three minutes after the last gunshot was fired. She nodded as she looked down. Clearly she meant to find a way to release this platform from its prison.

“We could not find a way up to assist.” Legion responded before she disappeared over the edge again.

“It's alright, Legion. We're getting you out of here.” she said firmly.

“All ships, open fire!” Gerrel's voice came again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are nearing the end of part four... wow. Part five will bring us closer to the ultimate conclusion of the game narrative. Keep in mind, an extended original plot post-game is planned and in the works. Hold onto your butts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.


	76. Sucker Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard has enough of Gerrel's recklessness.

Shepard glanced up toward the ceiling a split second before the blast rocked the entire ship. Something exploded deep in the hull as she and her team staggered from the impact. The rig that had held Legion dropped from its mountings as she stumbled toward the edge of their level. She watched helplessly as it fell toward Legion.

Several tons of steel landed barely a foot from the geth as it staggered away from its previous position. It looked up at her a heartbeat later. “Shepard-Commander, the creator fleet is firing upon this vessel. Without barriers, this ship will be destroyed. We must evacuate.”

“We need to get to the escape pods.” Shepard confirmed as she saw Legion run toward a previously blocked door below.

“Geth transmit intelligences via remote signal. We do not use escape pods.” Legion supplied over her comm.

“Suggestions?” Shepard growled. She had not thought of it like that.

“Geth fighters are docked in the port-side fighter bay. We can pilot a fighter to safety.” Legion said in its typical matter of fact tone.

“Then that's where we're headed.” Shepard confirmed as she moved toward the exit.

The moment the door opened and she passed through it, a blast nearly knocked her off the catwalk. She kept running, her team at her back. They would deal with injuries later. Right now, they had to get off this ship.

The next door opened on a familiar wide room. She moved toward the door at the far end only to be thrown back by the wall of fire that exploded through it. Chunks of the ceiling and former hallway blew by her, a near miss as she skidded across the grating on her knees.

“ _God_... they mean business.” Shepard hissed as Garrus hauled her back to her feet. She nodded at him and kept moving.

“Shepard to Fleet, hold fire! I repeat, _hold fire!_ ” her voice was desperate, brittle in her own ears as she gave the command.

“They're not responding.” Tali said, worry coloring every subtle tone of her voice.

“ _Damn it!_ ” Shepard growl, enunciating every syllable harshly.

“Shepard-Commander, we have taken control of docking protocols.” Legion's voice came through her comm just as the door before her opened.

“We'll be right there.” she called. _I hope_. She did not voice that last. There was no need to worry her team further. They knew the stakes here.

The next door opened on a catwalk and she could see Legion standing at the end of it. They must have reached the fighter bay he had mentioned. She stepped out hurriedly and barely missed being crushed by large chunk of falling debris. If Garrus had not grabbed her arm and hauled her back, she would have been a Shepard Pie.

The girder left a gap in the grating which she promptly ran and jumped over. She had not expected the floor to give way under her weight. As it squealed, she slid and fell off it, slamming her back against something on the way down. The landing on the level below was anything but graceful. She rolled and just laid there for a few seconds, trying to mentally climb past the well of pain.

“Shepard!” Garrus called, the anxiety in his sub-harmonics practically screaming through the air.

“I'm alright.” she called back as she climbed painfully to her feet.

“ _Quarian bastards!_ ” Garrus snarled, helmeted face turning up toward the ceiling as the ship continued to shake under the attack.

“Those are _my_ people!” Tali snapped from behind him.

“And they're _trying_ to _kill_ us.” the turian growled back.

“Point taken.” Tali sighed.

“Shepard-Commander, we can only launch from the upper level.” Legion stated.

“Figures! I'm on my way up. Had to take a detour.” Shepard grumbled.

“Understood.” the geth said.

Fighters fell off platforms all around the walkway as she made her way back up to her team's level. It reminded her of the destruction of the SR-1 and she immediately clamped down on that deep well of terror that tried to open up around her. _Deal with it later! Now is_ _ **not**_ _the time! There won't be a later if you don't get your ass moving!_ The commander growled silently at herself.

“They're closing the door!” Garrus barked and she heard his and Tali's running feet as the two of them sprinted toward Legion.

“Double time, people!” Shepard shouted more at herself than them. She staggered as something nearby exploded, but kept moving.

“Hurry! We're losing the environmental field!” Tali yelled.

“We'll make it!” _We have to._.. Shepard reminded them and herself.

Something big exploded next to her the second she reached her team. She watched in horror as it ripped her bondmate's mag-boots loose from the floor grating. He went sailing in the sudden weightlessness into something well out of her reach. His helmeted head hit hard as his arms and legs splayed out.

Legion hopped up onto the nearby fighter and casually grabbed the turian's wrist. It pulled him to itself and disappeared from Shepard's sight. She worked her way around by hand toward the geth fighter. Their geth had her bondmate. She trusted it to take care of him and keep him safe.

“Normandy to Shepard. I'm reading a loss of gravity. You ok over there?” came Joker's voice.

“We're leaving in a geth fighter. Transmitting rendezvous coordinates now.” Shepard grumbled. _We'd be fine if the quarians would stop fucking firing on us!_ The thought was filled with rage as she secured her position on top of the geth fighter for a moment.

Looking the fighter over, she grabbed a handle and opened what appeared to be a storage compartment. Without a second thought, she pulled herself inside. Tali followed close behind her. A moment later, Legion lowered Garrus into the compartment before closing it. He was only just beginning to shake off the knock to the head.

The geth climbed into the cockpit seconds later and began running launch protocol. “Does the storage compartment have adequate room, Shepard-Commander?”

“We're fine. Go!” Shepard growled as she put an arm around Garrus to secure him.

“Just waggle the wings or somethin' so I know which one is you.” Joker cracked over the comm a moment later.

The fighter dropped from its docking cleats with a jolt. Legion was an exceptional pilot, as it turned out. The geth dodged and avoided a multitude of possible collisions and explosions along the way. The lack of windows was disorienting, but all the information was thrown up on a holo-screen before the geth. They slipped past the quarian fleet unnoticed.

The explosion of the dreadnought sent out a shockwave that rocked everything in the system. Alarms sounded and Legion corrected their course faster than any organic ever could have. Even still, it was a bumpy ride.

The very second the fighter touched down in the Normandy's shuttle bay, Shepard was out the storage compartment hatch and tossing her helmet at the weapons lockers. The anger simmered over and she kicked the helmet when it bounced back at her.

“What were those _fuckers_ thinking?!” she seethed and glanced back at her team climbing out of the fighter.

Garrus took his helmet off slowly and she caught the sight of deep blue blood smeared across his right brow-plate. He had hit his head harder than she thought. The turian staggered and blinked hard as his feet hit the floor.

“That's it! I'm gonna have Gerrel's ass for this.” Shepard snarled. She twisted, pointing at Garrus as she headed for the elevator. “Tali, get him to the medbay.”

The commander did not wait for a response, she simply charged into the elevator and ran it up to the CIC. The second she stepped out, the doors closed and she heard it heading back down. Storming through the checkpoint, she glared at the privates there, daring one of them to say something.

As she approached, she heard Raan's raised voice from the war room. “Your unilateral strike endangered us all! I should charge you with _treason!_ ”

“I was within my authority as admiral of the Heavy Fleet!” Gerrel argued bitterly.

“And what of Shepard... and Tali'Zorah?” Raan waved her arm at the commander as she entered the room.

“They escaped unharmed! Shepard, the mission parameters changed! You're military. You understand that.” Gerrel looked to her for aid.

“I _understand_ that you wasted your chance to withdraw _safely!_ ” Shepard snarled at him as she came down the stairs and stepped right up in his face. “I _understand_ that you _endangered_ the lives of, not only _your_ _own people_ , but _my team_ , _my crew!_ ”

Gerrel simply stared at her for a moment, his mask hiding the lower half of his face. The subtle shift of his cheeks above it, however, told her all she needed to know. This bastard was smiling at her. She barely reigned in a desire to punch him as she continued. “For your information, we did _not_ get out of there _'unharmed'_. One of my team is being taken to the medbay as we speak.”

“Clearly he survived. What do a few injuries matter? The dreadnought was a _perfect_ target?!” he argued smugly.

Before she had even realized it was coming, her fist landed in his gut hard enough to double him over and wring a grunt from him. He choked vulgarly for a moment before he was able to right himself even a fraction. His eyes met hers in confusion before the lights seemed to go on behind that mask.

Shepard's voice was a rasping snarl of mockery on the last word. “Get the _hell_ off my ship, _Admiral!_ ”

“Shepard, I understand you're angry...” Raan began.

“ _Angry_ doesn't even begin to cover it. If I didn't _need_ your fleet...” Shepard cut her off and glared around the room at the remaining quarians. The silent threat was almost an entity all it's own in the room. It was as if she were shouting it at them all. Her eyes fell on Tali as her friend entered the room. It was enough to silence the rest of what she had been about to say.

“He nearly got us _killed_ , Raan.” Tali said to the woman.

“You must understand, the geth inflicted heavy casualties before you disabled the Reaper signal.” Raan tried to explain.

“The commander's bondmate is being treated for a head injury in the medbay.” Tali said softly.

“I'm sorry, Commander. I had no idea...” Raan said, clearly at a loss for words.

Shepard reigned in her anger as Gerrel departed the room with the assistance of another quarian. Raan had argued against the attack, it had come across the comm clearly. There was also still the matter of that cannon on the planet below.

“You said the geth have a planetary defense cannon?” she asked, an edge still coloring her words.

“ _Had._ ” Raan emphasized the word with a nod. “Admiral Koris sacrificed his own ship to destroy it. He crash landed on the homeworld.”

“The Normandy can assist with rescue efforts.” Shepard suggested tightly. She could not be angry with an entire people for the actions of one.

“Thank you, Commander. I think the worst is over. The geth no longer posses the programming upgrade they had while enslaved by the Reapers.” Raan said.

The sound of metal feet on metal deck plating drew her attention to the door behind her. Legion walked in to the sound of Raan's gasp. “Shepard-Commander, we are prepared to offer assistance.”

“What the _hell_ is _this?!_ ” Raan was clearly outraged.

“ _Wait_ – wait, everybody calm down!” Shepard snapped, holding up a hand to forestall them. “Legion is a part of my crew, has been since he helped destroy the Collectors.”

Raan's eyes widened as Legion walked down to the dais and stopped before the commander. Xen crossed her arms, a smile clear in her eyes as she looked it up and down. She was obviously gauging how best to tear it apart and examine it, piece by piece.

“This is a fascinating prototype. With some study, I may be able to use it to find a weakness in the geth consensus.” Xen finally said what was on her mind.

“As I said, he's part of _my_ crew. Not a project to be torn apart and studied.” Shepard growled coldly. She thought it best not to clue them into the fact that Legion had been the source of the boosted Reaper signal.

“ _It_ , not he. _It_.” Tali reminded her.

“Your pistol helped as well. Should I worry about it's feelings?” Xen asked smugly.

“I don't think you wanna continue this line of thought, Admiral. Legion is my _friend_... and... apart of _my crew_. As such, _he_ is protected under Alliance protocol.” Shepard snapped and her eyes found Tali's for a brief second.

The younger quarian cast her eyes downward, but said nothing more. Xen shifted her weight as if she was about to say something more. Shepard stepped in just a little closer, willing the woman to see the pending threat in the action.

“More importantly, he's our best source of information on the geth.” Shepard growled before stepping back.

“The scientific benefits...” Xen pressed further.

“...are off the table.” Shepard said sharply as she stepped back from the woman with a glare.

“Fine.” Xen huffed, crossing her arms.

Raan had remained silent throughout the exchange. Now she searched for a place across Legions 'face' to lock her eyes to. “What can you tell us about the geth? How will they react without Reaper guidance?”

“This is a false assumption. You have cut off long-range control, but the Old Machines placed a base on Rannoch for short-range direction.” Legion supplied.

“The geth still have Reaper upgrades?” Raan asked in exasperation as she shifted her weight and stared at the geth before her.

“Correct. They are currently disorganized, but once the short-range signal is in place, they _will_ recover.” Legion answered freely.

“ _Keelah._..” Raan straightened her back with a gasp as she shook her head. “I need to warn the Fleet. Xen, coordinate with Gerrel. _Move!_ ”

“We need to take out the Reaper base. Where's it located?” Shepard asked Legion directly. She hoped he remained cooperative. The commander hated to think what might have to be done if he did not.

“Unknown.” Legion answered simply.

“Find it.” Shepard ordered. This was the test of his loyalty, she realized.

“Understood. We do the location of a server from which geth fighter squadrons are controlled.” Legion stated as he accessed the terminal in the dais to pull up a holo-map. “The squadrons are targeting the creator liveships. Disabling them will limit casualties. We offer assistance.”

Shepard stepped forward and looked the map and its targets over thoughtfully as she leaned on the rim. Her eyes narrowed at the markers. The only word that escaped her was a breathless, “Thanks”


	77. Discussions of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tali listens to Garrus and Shepard discuss his new position. She sympathizes and feels a need to discuss hers the moment the turian heads for the battery.

“Come on, we've a friend to check on.” Shepard said as she put a hand on Tali's shoulder. “And... you should probably get checked out as well.”

Tali nodded. She had finally pegged what it was she felt whenever she looked the turian in the eyes; family. Garrus made her wonder what it might have been like to have a big brother. She supposed he had stepped into that roll on the SR-1. “He better be ok.”

“He's tough. Those plates of his can take a beating.” Shepard nodded as they headed through the CIC to the elevator.

“But?” Tali prompted and wished she had not when Shepard's face fell.

“But he's not indestructible. He's mortal, just like the rest of us.” Shepard looked her in the eyes then and she saw a deep sadness there. “We almost lost him on Omega... twice.”

“I knew about that rocket, but... there was more?” Tali asked.

Shepard nodded and looked away from her for a moment before answering. She thought she saw a flicker of some deep seeded emotion there and then it was gone. “He was buried under a collapsed bridge while we were trying to liberate Omega from Cerberus.”  
“The limp... I should have guessed something awful happened to cause that.” Tali nodded thoughtfully and voiced those thoughts softly.

The elevator stopped on the crew deck and Shepard seemed to freeze in sight of the memorial wall before it. The look on her face was haunted, as if she had seen a ghost. Something had certainly chilled the human to the bone.

“What?” Tali asked, glancing between the commander and the wall.

“I see this thing... every day and...” Shepard shook her head, looking away from the wall, away from everything for a moment before locking her eyes back on it. She stepped up to the wall and touched the empty center with her fingertips, almost caressing it. “The plaques aren't here, I know they're not, but I _see_ them.”

“Who's plaques?” Tali asked in real concern now. This was a crack in Shepard's armor she never thought to see. The human had always been larger than life. Powerful, invincible, immortal... to think that she might one day be gone... it was unthinkable.

“I don't know.” Shepard shook her head and dropped her hand. “Mine maybe?”

“No... no, that's not going to happen, Shepard.” Tali shook her head.

Shepard gave her a small, tight smile that did not reach her eyes and nodded. “Let's go. We'll see how Garrus is doing.”

The moment they entered the room, they noticed a couple of things. Garrus standing with his arms crossed, leaning against an exam bed and glaring at Chakwas. Chakwas glaring right back with a sour look on her face. The turian's visor decidedly missing from his face, must have been the object the doctor gripped. Tali froze just inside the door at the sight.

“I hope you're here to bail me out.” Garrus growled irritably as the door closed behind them.

“This isn't a jail cell, Garrus. You're free to go any time you feel up to it.” Chakwas said, her hands flexing around the object in her grasp.

“Riiiight.” Garrus grumbled and held his hand out for the device in hers.

“You know you can't plug this back into that node right away. You need a few hours for the medi-gel to be effective.” Chakwas said, hesitating to hand him the visor.

“I've had this node since I was fifteen and some version of that visor almost as long...” Garrus growled as the woman finally handed it over reluctantly.

“I'm not responsible for any damage you do to your visual cortex.” Chakwas snapped and sat down before her console, turning her back on them.

Garrus raised his hands up toward his head about to seat the visor when Shepard put a hand on his arm. He paused, glancing at her and sighed when she shook her head slightly. Lowering the visor, he blinked and wiped at his left eye before nodding. Clearly he was not comfortable without the device for extended periods of time.

“Too bad you weren't here earlier, Tali.” he said, making eye contact with her as the three of them headed into the mess. “You just missed Wrex.”

“I heard. I can't believe the genophage is really cured.” Tali said, trying not to sound too excited about that idea.

“Shepard's on a roll. I figure, if we can pull _that_ off, we've got a shot at sorting the geth out.” Garrus nodded toward the commander as the woman was stepping away from them, heading for the kitchenette.

“I don't know.” Tali shook her head. It seemed like a long shot to her. “The genophage didn't carry rifles and fight back.”

“No.” Garrus drawled as he took a seat in a chair on the far side of the mess. “But there was a scary bit with the mother of all thresher maws.”

“The what?” Tali's eyes widened behind her mask as she let out an incredulous breath before taking a seat herself.

“Long story. Nobody'll believe it anyway.” Garrus snarked, setting his visor down on the table before him.

“With _you_ , Garrus, I'd believe just about anything.” Tali breathed as Shepard was heading toward their table with a few ration bars and drinks.

“Oh?” Garrus laughed. “We should play poker sometime. Anyway... that damn gun still needs calibrating. I should see to that...”

“Eat first.” Shepard ordered and slid his scalloped mug and a ration bar across the table at him.

Garrus let out a sigh and dragged the ration bar closer to look at it before glancing back up at his bondmate. “You just knew the geth would figure into this war somehow.”

“Because Reapers weren't enough.” Shepard almost sounded snarky as she took her own seat across from them.

“Still, it's good to have Tali here.” Garrus snorted and glanced Tali's way. He seemed more relaxed than she thought she had ever seen him. His hand patted hers after sliding the second ration bar her way. “This is as much your fight as ours.”

Tali nodded with a smile she knew he could not see and squeezed his hand before taking the ration bar. She had missed her friends, missed her surrogate brother. The world would be a much darker place without that turian and she knew it.

Garrus opened his omni-tool when it began pinging and his mandibles drew in sharply along with a breath. He tapped a few keys, scanned the information quickly and closed the interface with a grumble of frustration. The turian pushed his ration bar away, unopened, with a grunt and sat back.

“That word from Palaven?” Shepard asked, the meaning obviously not lost on the turian.

“Yeah... and I don't like what I'm hearing.” he grumbled, shaking his head.

“The krogan are there in force now. They have to be slowing the Reapers down.” Shepard leaned forward and pushed his meal back toward him.

“That's all they're doing... slowing the Reapers down, not stopping them.” he hummed faintly, beginning to sound stressed. He let out a tired sigh and added. “I'm not sure it's going to be enough.”

“Hear anything form your family?” Shepard asked softly after a moment.

Tali watched his reactions closely. She knew what was happening on his homeworld. There were rumors that some of his family was still planetside when the Reapers attacked. From the far off look in his eyes as he stared off toward the kitchenette, she knew those rumors must be true.

Shepard reached over and took his hands in hers to draw his attention back to the here and now. “You will.”

Garrus looked down at her hands as he turned his over and gently gripped them. Compared to the commander's five fingered human hands, his were huge. They engulfed hers easily. “I hope you're right.”

“I can't imagine Solana letting anything happen to your father.” Shepard nodded with a lopsided smile.

Garrus let out a sigh and raised on hand to press the pads of his fingers into his eyes. Shepard gripped the hand still on the table with both her hers. She rubbed her thumbs over the back of that hand soothingly. That was when Tali realized his gloves were missing. She could not remember every having actually seen any turian's bare hands.

“Primarch Victus wants my advice on fleet strength when the Crucible is ready.” Garrus finally relinquished the information he had clearly been sitting on.

Tali realized most of this information must have come while they were dealing with Gerrel and Raan in the war room. She felt a little uncomfortable just sitting there turning the dextro chocolate into a slurry she could take in. The chocolate was almost ready when Garrus leaned his elbows on the table with a sigh.

“Still can't get used to people asking me things like that.” the turian said distantly.

“What did you say?” Shepard asked, the honesty of her question causing him to glance at her before answering.

Garrus shook his head and glanced down at her hands still wrapped around his. He put his other hand over them and rubbed slightly. “I said at some point we have to decide if our fleet keeps defending Palaven... or we go on the offensive.”

“They can't do both. The quarian fleet learned that three hundred years ago with the geth.” Tali grumbled faintly.

“Right.” Garrus glanced her way briefly. “We're taking a hell of a beating. Like I said, not the sort of questions I'm used to answering.”

“You know what you're doing, Garrus. Trust me.” Shepard nodded with a vote of confidence.

“Shepard's right. Everybody can see that.” Tali said and slurped at the straw she had fed into her suit.

“Maybe, but you spend so much time on the outside trying to get in, and when you do, it's...” he shook her head in frustration. “...not what I expected.”

“How so?” Shepard asked sounding genuinely curious.

Tali knew exactly what he was feeling. She had been in his position once. Where he had wanted authority, she had simply wanted her father. She knew something of his relationship with his own father. In many ways, they were the same. Now, she was caught in the same trap with him. She knew what he would say before it even left his mouth.

“All the questions...” Tali said softly.

“Right... and every one of them with a _million_ lives riding on the answers.” the turian nodded.

“You do the best you can with what you know. It's no different than your days at C-Sec.” Shepard stated and glanced her way. “Or your days on your pilgrimage.”

Garrus sat up straight with a nod, his eyes locked on a point over the commander's head. “You're right. Thought I'm starting to see why the galaxy needs coldhearted dictators every now and then.”

“They get the job done.” Tali said firmly. She understood, but that did not mean she agreed with the idea.

Garrus glanced her way before locking eyes with his bondmate. “They don't give a damn about the consequences. Suppose that's what it's going to take, Shepard. The ruthless calculus of war. Ten billion people over here die so twenty billion over there can live.”

There was a long pause, silence between them as Garrus leaned his elbows back on the table and took his head in his hands. He let out a sigh of frustration then and his words came softly. “Are we up for that? Are you?”

Shepard stared at him silently for several seconds, her mouth pinched into a hard pucker. Her thought processes clearly written on her face. “If we reduce this war to arithmetic, we're no better than the Reapers.”

That drew a gasp from Tali. She had been thinking along the same lines as Garrus. Her people, however, did not have the numbers for such calculations. Ruthless calculus indeed.

“A nice sentiment. Let's hope we can live by it.” Garrus said, getting to his feet. “If the geth still think the Reapers are some sort of god, this war must be heaven to them.”

“I shutter to look at it that way.” Tali grumbled.

“Either way, you're a welcome face around here... er... well... a... face... behind a mask.” the turian was clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“I missed you too, Garrus.” Tali laughed.

“I've got some things to do. I'll catch you later.” Garrus nodded before stepping to Shepard's side and leaning down near her ear. “I'll see you in our quarters...”

Shepard shifted, putting hand up and drawing him in close enough to plant a soft kiss on his unmarred mandible. His mandibles flicked in a faint smile as he raised up. Without another look, he headed up the ramp and disappeared into the battery.

“You ready to talk?” Shepard asked her a moment later.

Tali nodded and wrapped both hands around her heated mug. “I couldn't talk freely in front of Raan.”

“You ok?” Shepard asked, a look of concern crossing her face.

“No, no, I'm really not.” Tali dropped her head with a shake. She had been thinking, chewing on this problem since before they docked with the dreadnought. Now it needed to come out. “Seventeen million lives are riding on me... and I don't know if I can save them.”

“Hey...” Shepard drew her attention as she got up and crossed to the other side of the table to take a seat beside her. The human's hand closed over hers. It was an odd sensation. “You're doing everything you can. If the fleet falls, it won't be because of you.”

“Xen's ideas? The new tech that made an invasion too good to pass up? That's based on my father's work. The work I helped him develop.” Tali stood and began pacing behind Shepard's chair. “If they die because of me... if... if I don't...”

Tali heard the scrape of the chair's legs on the deck. A moment later, Shepard's hand was on her shoulder gently squeezing. “We'll get them out of there safely, Tali.”

“I couldn't do this without you, Shepard.” Tali looked up, locking eyes on the woman standing beside her. “I feel like I'm bluffing. Trying to convince them that the admiral's daughter knows what she's doing.”

“Not the admiral's _daughter_.” Shepard smiled at her with a nod. “The _admiral_.”

Tali let out a breath and stood a little straighter. “I know. At least now, I can push back against the worst ideas. That's why I accepted the position... and because of you.”

“Me?” Shepard asked, clearly at a loss.

“When they offered me the position, I asked myself what you'd do. I thought... you'd take the chance to make things better.” Tali answered honestly, locking eyes with the commander. “That probably sounds stupid. I know I'm not _really_ qualified for this...”

“You're doing fine, Tali. And thanks.” Shepard said sincerely.

“I should get back before the admirals get into trouble again. _Keelah_ , they might kill each other without me there to stop them. I'll talk to you later.” Tali nodded with a half laugh before she headed toward the elevator.


	78. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glaring around the room, Shepard realized she needed a minute to catch her breath.

There were so many ways this could all go sideways. So many things still needed done. The quarian fleet had lost the window of opportunity she and her team had gained them. Gerrel had blown that for them by attacking and destroying the dreadnought. The people who needed saved from the Reapers also needed saved from themselves, it seemed.

The moment Shepard was sure Tali had reached the command level, she had headed for the elevator herself. She needed to speak with Hackett, make her report on the current status of the quarian fleet. He might have some advice for her, if nothing else.

“They fired on the dreadnought while you were on board?” Hackett asked, an incredulous look on his face as he dropped his hand. The QEC flickered and stabilized within the space of a heartbeat.

“They were supposed to pull their fleet out safely. Instead...” Shepard growled, pacing back and forth in the small room.

Hackett took a small step back, shifting his weight and nodding. “I know. Admiral Gerrel has been causing trouble along the turian border for years. But I can understand their desperation. We only lost Earth a few weeks back.”

“We haven't _lost_ Earth yet.” Shepard glared at him, taking a step toward the QEC. The look in her eyes was a dangerous mix of determination and anger.

Hackett nodded, crossing his arms. “We need help, Shepard. We need a fleet and the quarians have the biggest one out there.”

“I'll get it, Admiral.” Shepard said in a resigned tone.

The instant the admiral stepped off the QEC platform and disappeared, she thumped her fists against the railing in frustration. He wanted a miracle she was not sure she could provide. _Next he'll be asking me for the geth as a bonus_.

Glaring around the room, she realized she needed a minute to catch her breath. Raan and a couple of the quarians were still in the war room, virtually arguing over their next move. Tali was attempting to mediate and giving her pleading looks as she past by them. Garrus would still be in the battery, she knew. Their quarters would be empty. It was the perfect refuge for a troubled mind.

Nodding at Tali, she made her way out of the war room and back toward the elevator in the CIC. The more she thought about the captain's cabin, the more she realized that was exactly where she needed to be. It was quiet there and smelled of a mixture of herself and Garrus. The scent was soothing, her soap and his intermingled.

The scent and the silence was not enough to prevent her pacing. She paced before the fish tank, glancing periodically at the powered down terminal. So much to do. Koris was on Rannoch in need of an evac, or was it a rescue, from his own 'valiant' efforts. He had managed to destroy one planetary defense cannon with his ship. That ship, carrying who knew how many quarians, was gone. He had crashed it into the cannon in a last ditch effort to destroy it. What he had not taken into account was the fact that there was another cannon down there. It was still firing randomly at anything that got close enough to the planet. That meant the Normandy could not risk going in. She and a team would have to take a shuttle down. Smaller target, less likely to be detected. The cannon was less likely to actually hit them if it did pick them up. That almost certainly meant going in on foot, eventually. They might pick Koris up in the shuttle, but that cannon... That cannon needed to be disabled if they were going to destroy the Reaper base.

Something nagged at her about the coming mission that she could not quite put a finger on. So much was riding on the outcome, on her. Things were only going to get worse with so much more pressure as the war drew to its inevitable conclusion. What that conclusion ultimately meant for the galaxy, she could not yet see. It all depended on something those working on the Crucible were dubbing 'that catalyst'. So far, it amounted to a missing component, but they had faith they would find it, and soon.

Shepard was still pacing when the door opened and Garrus stopped just inside it. The turian was silhouetted by the light of the corridor behind him. He stood there for a moment, seeming to calculate how best to approach her, before stepping forward and allowing the door to close.

Glancing at him once, she stopped and flexed her hands into fists a few times in frustration. Shaking her head, she looked up at him. Searching his face for an answer she knew was not there. Neither of them knew exactly how to handle this situation with the quarians and the geth. She was certain they needed to resolve it somehow. The geth were an invaluable resource, but she could see no way clear of gaining their cooperation. It almost felt like she was being forced to choose between the quarians and the geth. It rubbed her the wrong way. The geth, if Legion were any kind of example, were no less alive than any organic being she could name.

“What do I do, Garrus? How do I sort this mess out without adding more genocide to my shoulders?” she asked sounding almost desperate to her own ears.

The turian took three long strides and drew her into his arms quickly. He knew what she was faced with. Even he had agreed that Legion was a 'person' rather he was organic or not. The geth were much like EDI, or could have been if the ancient quarians had not attempted to murder them all to correct their own mistakes.

Shepard threaded her arms around the turian and gripped the hard ridges of his carapace through the fabric of his tunic. Growth rings, he had told her once. Right now, they served as her anchor as she buried her face against his throat. She had not realized just how much she needed him in those brief moments until he had stepped into their quarters.

“Commander, we're coming into shuttle range.” came Joker's voice over the comm, shattering the moment.

“Understood.” Shepard acknowledged as she drew back from Garrus to look up into blue eyes that seemed able to lay her soul bare. “So much for catching our breath. We leave in five.”

“I'll meet you at the shuttle.” Garrus nodded as she stepped away from him.

“You sure you're up to this? You took a pretty hard knock to the head earlier.” Shepard reached up and ran her thumb gently over the new crack in his right brow-plate.

“I'm _fine_ , Shepard.” he drawled as he took her hand and rubbed his own thumb through her palm.

“Nothing a little medi-gel can't fix, huh?” she huffed a faint laugh before stepping toward the door, her hand lingering in his for a moment longer.

Garrus nodded and dropped her hand slowly as he turned toward the lower section of their quarters. She knew the black widow was likely in its case, tucked into the cubby behind the clothing rack. He liked to keep it close, and well away from Vega and his barely legal mods.

Shepard gave him a slight smile before heading out and down the elevator to the shuttle bay. It was a quick ride. When the door opened, she saw Tali stepping out of the shuttle, her combat drone following her. It was pretty obvious she was going over its programming to ensure it recognized friend and foe. Those lines were blurring lately with the addition of Legion to their team once more. It almost made her glad that the geth would be remaining on board the Normandy for this run.

Gearing up did not take her long. By the time she was fastening the buckles and straps of her boots, Garrus was stepping out of the elevator. Most of his gear was already in place. He headed toward her and synced down a couple of straps along her ribs. This had become one of their many 'couples habits' as the crew called them. She smiled up at him and ran her hands over the armor protecting his cowl. Her thumbs clicked down several latches he had left loose and the tiny servos within emitted a whirring sound as they were into locked position. His mandibles flared slightly at her as he dipped his head down to rest his plated brow against her forehead.

“Get a room, bro!” Vega called from his alcove in the shuttle bay.

“Got one, thanks.” Shepard smiled back at the meat mountain.

“What's wrong, Jimmy? Jealous?” Garrus purred with a laugh.

“Of you, Scars? Nah, all the ladies want a trip to Vegas Vega.” Vega laughed and kissed his bicep.

“Oh god...” Shepard laughed and shook her head, tossing her gun rag at the man.

“Well... maybe not _all_ the ladies.” Vega snickered as he caught the rag before it hit him in the face.

“ _Keelah_ , you're so full of yourself.” Tali laughed and disappeared into the shuttle.

“Everybody loves these guns, Tali. I'm just sayin'.” Vega pumped his arm, causing his bicep to dance up and down.

“I prefer my shotgun.” the quarian said, cocking said shotgun against her hip.

“Whatever. You know you like lookin' at this.” Vega grumbled, waving at hand at himself. There was a laugh in his voice as he wandered back into his station.

“Is he _always_ like that?” Tali asked as the shuttle hatch came down behind them, sealing them in.

“Worse.” Shepard breathed.

“ _Keelah.._.” Tali groaned.

“I enjoy watching him squirm. Can never tell if he's serious though.” Garrus said, his mandibles flaring slightly, eyes locked to the commander. “Might have to drag him onto a sparring mat, settle my claim once and for all.”

“Your claim?” Shepard asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

“It's a turian thing. Haven't you watched _Fleet and Flotilla?_ ” Tali asked, looking between the two of them. A moment later she rolled her eyes. “You haven't seen it... They're going to spin off a series and you haven't even seen the movie.”

“No time.” Shepard shrugged.

“What about you, Garrus? Have you seen it?” Tali grumbled at him.

“I _might_ have seen it... once or twice.” Garrus answered meekly.

“Uh-huh. That's not what vid screen in our quarters says.” Shepard laughed as the shuttle kicked free of the Normandy.

“Really? How many listings does it have?” Tali asked sounding genuinely curious now.

“One hundred, thirty-seven requests of _Fleet and Flotilla_ from Officer Vakarian's omni-tool were logged.” EDI's voice cut in over their linked comm.

“Well... I...” Garrus began, his neck flushing a deep cobalt.

“Gotcha... and this time, it counts, lover.” Shepard flashed him a big smile at the deep color flooding across his neck.

“Crap.” he breathed.

Shepard and Tali bumped knuckles at the mortified look that pinned his mandibles to his face. Two knuckles to four and the wiggle of fingers to simulate an explosion. Garrus seemed to just sink into his carapace at the obvious conspiracy. He chuckled at them with a shake of his head a moment later.

“Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Xen. Have you reached Zaal'Koris' escape pod?” the quarian admiral's voice suddenly broke into the shuttle, diffusing the rampant humor.


	79. Storming Rannoch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard headed back toward the shuttle hatch with a meaningful look to her team. “Lock and load, guys.”

“Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Xen. Have you reached Zaal'Koris' escape pod?” the quarian admiral's voice suddenly broke into the shuttle, diffusing the rampant humor.

“Not yet. What's your status?” Shepard asked the woman as she stepped in close to the tiny vid screen mounted on the shuttle's bulkhead.

“The civilian fleet has taken significant losses since Zaal'Koris sacrificed his ship. Searching for their lost admiral is the only thing keeping the captains from panicking.” Xen answered.

“So finding him is our first priority.” Shepard nodded thoughtfully.

“Yes. He may have opposed the invasion, but he's done an admirable job protecting our civilian ships.” Xen paused briefly with a nod. “Without him, some of our noncombatants are planning to leave the flotilla. Picture the consequences, if you will.”

Shepard closed her eyes and nodded. She knew very well what those consequences would be. If the Reapers did not wipe them out first... “They've lost a leader in a war they didn't want.”

“They're wants are immaterial! We're committed. Even Zaal'Koris understood the civilian fleet's importance.” Xen snapped coldheartedly. “The invasion would be stalled without a supply chain, after all.”

The commander glared at the quarian woman for a heartbeat longer. Then, with release of a frustrated breath, she said. “I'll do what I can. Keep your civilians safe.”

“I make no promises. My own ships must be coordinated for our final strike on Rannoch.” Xen snapped again, informing the commander of her ultimate plan.

“I'm getting some static.” Shepard stated as she glanced back up at the vid screen. Part of her was rooting for a technical error that might disconnect this horrid woman from the line.

“It appears Zaal'Koris crashed within range of the geth jamming tower. You must disable it to contact him.” Xen said, sounding somewhat smug. “Make sure to....”

“Xen. Admiral Xen?” Shepard stepped forward, calling to the woman as the static and interference finally severed the connection. She could not say she was sorry for that.

“Well, this should make things interesting.” Garrus drawled from his seat behind her.

Glancing back at him, she noticed he was leaning with one elbow on his knee. He was struggling to keep the flaring of his mandibles to a minimum as they fluttered faintly. Clearly, he was not sad to see the quarian disappear from the vid screen either.

“We'll see in a minute.” Shepard nodded before calling to Cortez. “Take us in to the tower.”

The shuttle pitched slightly to port as their pilot corrected course. Shepard stepped over toward Garrus and was about to take a seat beside him when the shuttle pitched unexpectedly to starboard. She nearly hit her head on the bulkhead before her hand hit the wall.

“We're taking fire.” Cortez stated as his hands danced over the console before him. “Looks like the geth installed antiaircraft guns beside the jamming tower.”

“We'll have to disable them on foot.” Shepard acknowledged. She had known there would be a ground mission here. No way around that. “Once the guns are gone, you take out the tower.”

Cortez glanced back at her as she patted him on the shoulder. “Right, Commander. Setting you down here.”

Shepard headed back toward the shuttle hatch with a meaningful look to her team. “Lock and load, guys.”

A moment later that hatch opened and she dropped to the ground. Tali and Garrus followed quickly before the shuttle took to the air again. The planet reminded her of parts of Earth.

“My people have been in exile for centuries. To be standing here in the land of my ancestors...” Tali said softly, her voice full of awe.

“I imagine it's pretty overwhelming.” Garrus commented, his sub-harmonics pitching oddly as he breathed in Rannoch's air.

Looking ahead, Shepard realized they could see the tower a fair distance away. She thought it might be roughly a klick away. Not far unless they ran into trouble. _Don't kid yourself._ She grumbled to herself and to her team, she said. “This is a geth hot-spot. Be ready for anything.”

“Understood.” Garrus stated in the usual professional tone he used during missions.

They moved forward and rounded a bind that brought the jamming tower into their field of view for a few minutes. The turian jogged up beside her and glanced her way. “Jamming towers. Clever. But, if we just towed in some asteroids...”

That got an instant heated rise from Tali. Shepard had to wonder, had he done it on purpose? From the flick of his mandibles, she suspected he had.

“You want to drop meteors on Rannoch? You'd make it unlivable!” Tali growled in stunned anger.

Garrus shrugged as they moved onward, glancing at the quarian. “The dust would settle. _And_ you've already got the suits.”

“Have I told you lately... that your an asshole?” Tali snapped.

Shepard huffed a quiet laugh at that, her brows shooting up at Tali's choice of words. She had not realized human cursing was rubbing off on her non-human crew so much. Garrus simply snickered, his sub-harmonics trilling in mirth. This was clearly one of those rough and tumble kind of jokes the two engaged in from time to time.

“You're still my favorite quarian.” he mumbled and jogged on ahead a few feet.

“I still have a shotgun, Garrus.” Tali grumbled, but Shepard heard the chuckle just under the woman's breath.

The next bend brought trouble, the geth kind. Shepard saw it first and ducked down behind an outcropping of rocks. She motioned her team to follow suit. Garrus climbed up one level and squatted down behind a boulder. He was readying a couple of heat syncs, his custom version of concussive rounds.

Peering through her scope, the commander got a good bead on the single geth ahead of them. Head shots were not effective against them. No, a shot to the center of the chassis usually proved lethal. Hit the power core, short it out and they went down fast. That was her goal as she lined up the shot. It was tricky with their reinforced plating, but the vents left a perfect access point.

Inhale, aim, exhale, fire... the geth dropped even as she reloaded. It was a trick she had learned watching Garrus. The improvements in her accuracy were marked after she had mastered the technique. That geth was only down for a few seconds before another one stepped into view. It was on high alert, scanning the rocky landscape for the sniper.

There were others behind it and she realized they might well be in for a fight. At her nod, Tali release Chikktika and Garrus flinched at the buzzing sound it made. She had to admit, it was a pretty awful sound. With her cybernetically advanced hearing, it seemed to buzz right through her skull uncomfortably.

“Concussive rounds ready.” Garrus said just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

At Shepard's nod, he tossed them in a high arc. She watched them through her scope as they landed bare inches from one of the geth. It shifted to investigate and the commander pulled away from the scope barely a breath before those biotic charged heat syncs exploded.

“Scratch one.” Garrus hooted and stepped out of cover as bits and pieces of geth rained down a short distance away.

“More like three. I don't think I'll ever get used to you being a biotic.” Tali commented.

“He's no different than me, Tali.” Shepard murmured as she past by the woman.

“That's not _entirely_ true, Shepard.” Garrus said as he made his way carefully over some loose rocks.

“How so?” the commander asked.

“I'm weaker.” he stated quickly.

“There's where you're wrong, lover. You held your own against _my_ biotics. Your shielding didn't collapse when I hit it. If you're not equal in strength, you're pretty close.” Shepard said as she took point once more, putting some distance between them before he could argue the point. She knew what she felt from him and it was so much stronger than he was willing to admit.

“Shielding isn't attacks.” he grumbled as he followed her.

They traveled cautiously through the ravine, picking up anything that even remotely resembled ammo along the way. It was not long before they came to a burning escape pod with a body near it. There was nothing they could do for the downed quarian, he was already dead. Another quarian body lay only a few feet away. Shepard squatted and carefully checked her over.

“They came so far.” Tali said softly as she squatted beside the body, rolling the woman onto her back and crossing her arms over her chest.

Shepard stood watching her for a moment. She knew next to nothing about quarian burial rituals. This looked like a sign of respect to her. The commander watched Tali do the same to the man just outside the escape pod. “We need to radio Koris if we're gonna find him. Let's get to that jamming tower.”

A few feet from the crash site, Shepard stepped on something that gave a metallic click. She glanced down and her heart began to gallop. It looked like a mine, but there was no way to tell the yield. It could just be a flash-bang or it could take a leg. _Or my life_.

“Shepard?” Garrus asked softly as he came up to her position.

Swallowing hard, she glanced at him. She knew there was terror in her eyes and he would see it. The closeness of their relationship had primed him to read every line of her body. Given enough time together, she suspected he might eventually start reading her mind. The thought almost drew a chuckle from her, until she glanced down again.

“Shit... stepped on a mine.” Shepard breathed quietly.

“Don't move!” Tali barked before kneeling down to look the device over. As their resident tech and versed in all things geth, she was the only one qualified to deal with the thing.

“Believe me, that's the last thing on my mind right about now.” Shepard gave a nervous laugh and closed her eyes. If she was being honest with herself, what she really wanted to do was run the other way and bury herself in the arms of the turian to her left. That was not an options just now, however.

Tali glanced up at her through the purple lens of her mask before scanning the device with her omni-tool. The second she read the scan, she was searching for something close by. “When I say step back, step back... fast.”

Shepard nodded faintly and let out a breath. “Ok, I can do this.”

The commander felt something bump into the toe of her boot and glanced down. Tali had a large rock in one hand, her omni-tool open over the other. “Step back!”

Shepard practically jumped back as the quarian shifted the rock into place where her foot had been. Tali moved back quickly and took a careful aim at the device with her pistol. Before the commander could object, she fired and the mine exploded. The detonation was small, but it would almost certainly have taken her foot with it if she had still been standing on it. It left a small pit in the stone before them.

“Watch for those.” Shepard said sounding far too calm for someone who had just nearly lost a foot.

“I'm betting those geth land mines are all over the place.” Garrus said irritably as he put an arm around Shepard's shoulders briefly.

When she was finally able to swallow down the anxiety, Shepard nodded to him and moved away. His touch had been lite, almost casual, but the meaning was there. It said simply; I'm here if you need me. She wasted very little time moving around the next bend. The view before them was breathtaking, or would have been without that jamming tower and its defensive guns marring it.

As the moved along the edge of the ravine, overlooking the river below, Garrus grabbed her elbow and hauled her down with him behind a boulder. His whisper was almost hoarse as he indicated the ledge below their position. “Geth below us.”

There were several geth just across the way from them. Shepard threw a singularity at them and a couple of them just seemed to shake it off. That was when she brought out the pistol and began picking them off one by one. Bullets zinged off the rocks around her team. Several took chips out of the boulder her bondmate was tucked behind. There were maybe half a dozen geth down on that ledge when she finally resorted to her sniper rifle. She was still half burned from their last run. Her biotics were suffering for it too. A ration bar and a couple of hours sitting on the sidelines was not enough to replenish the biological energy drain. She needed several hours of uninterrupted sleep to do that, along with a good meal. _And maybe some earth-shattering sex_.

Determination set in with that last thought. She meant to rock her turian's world later, but in order to do that, they had to make it off Rannoch. And that meant disabling that jamming tower, finding Koris and blowing a possible Reaper base. _Just another day at the office, thanks_.

Her sniper rifle primed, she glanced at Garrus. He was taking careful aim with the widow. With the two of them picking them off, the geth did not stand a chance. They made short work of the small squadron below.

The second the last geth fell, they were on the move again. The path they were on crossed over where those geth had been. Shepard and her team picked the burnt out platforms over and left them quickly. They did not make it much further before Tali shouted a warning.

“There's geth dropping in!” the quarian yelled as she fired on a large white platform that dropped just before her.

There were a number of others seemingly falling from the sky. As she glanced up, Shepard recognized the small fighters passing overheard. They were the same design as the one they had escaped the dreadnought in. The geth clearly did not need anything more elaborate for drops.

A handful, that was all the resistance they met as one of the antiaircraft guns came into view. She looked around for a route to it and found one that led up several ledges of rock. They came to another escape pod and yet another quarian body. Tali took the time to roll him over onto his back and cross his arms. When they had time, she meant to ask the quarian woman why she did that.

The ravine's walls closed in on them again as they moved away from the pod. Shepard caught the glint of metal on the ground and halted her team several feet away. She drew her pistol and fired at the device, detonating it quickly. Once the small flash-fire burned itself out, she continued forward.

At last they came to a metal ramp leading toward the tower and its guns. There were geth here as well. They were defending one of the guns. Those guns needed to go if Cortez was going to get close enough to the tower to take it out. They were so much bigger this close.

They made short work of the geth troopers and began moving up that ramp and onto the metal walkway. Garrus was staring up at the guns with an unreadable expressing pinned to his face. The words, when they came, sounded almost triumphant. “AA guns ahead of us.”

“Geth Rocket Trooper!” Tali hissed and ducked down behind a railing.

“Crap!” Garrus snarled and nearly threw himself over the railing to avoid being hit.

Tali's combat drone buzzed over his head and shorted out the geth nearest him. He raised up from his position of cover and grabbed the machine. A moment later, he had torn the geth's 'head' off.

“Looks like the gun has a control panel.” The moment he dropped the limp robot, he turned toward the gun. His mandibles were flaring as he all but purred. “Let's take a look.”


	80. Tides of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There's someone alive over here!” Tali shouted as they all heard the grunt. The quarian ran toward the sound.

Moving in close to the control panel at the base of the AA gun, Garrus glanced over the rim of his armored cowl at Shepard. She was exhausted, he could see it in the dark circles smudged under her eyes. He hoped this mission did not become more taxing than it already was. Her biotics were fairly wiped from the last round. He would have to keep a close eye on her through this one. Burning herself out was the least of the concerns the turian had for his mate. Exhaustion lead to carelessness, lead to mistakes. He had seen it during his days at C-Sec. One or another officer killed due to a careless mistake that could have been prevented.

“One of us needs to take those AA guns offline.” Tali said as she opened her omni-tool before the console.

“Tali, you're my geth expert... and this is geth tech. You up for it?” Shepard looked the quarian woman in the eyes.

“No problem.” Tali nodded and headed for the console.

“You ready to lay down some resistance fire, Garrus?” Shepard looked to him with a smile as she popped the heat sync from her pistol.

“Let's take these bastards down.” he growled, a ghost of a laugh in his voice. His head still throbbed, but he meant to see this through. As he had said a number of times, where Shepard went, he went.

They did not have long to wait for the geth to figure out exactly what they were up to. Seconds after stepping away from Tali, several geth dropped onto the platform. The synthetics began firing on them before their metal feet had even touched down.

Shepard raised up enough to fire at one and another off slightly to her right fired on her. Garrus heard her grunt before she fired a couple of shots off at it. _Sloppy, dammit, sloppy will get her killed!_ His sub-harmonics were growling at the thought of his mate being injured yet again in this war. He charged toward her and then passed her to take cover along the opposite railing. It provided him a better vantage point and he took full advantage of it.

Garrus took down the geth that had fired on Shepard before moving forward a few feet. He caught sight of her tipping the muzzle of her gun over the railing out of the corner of his eye. She cut loose with a barrage of fire. The turian nearly swallowed his tongue as the geth she clearly had not seen fired a rocket launcher at her.

_Dammit! Too slow!_ Garrus snarled at himself as he launched himself toward her. Her kinetic barriers dropped as she was thrown back with a ragged cry. The turian made it to her just as she hit the deck. He did not even bother to look where he was aiming as he fired on the geth trooper. The electronic screech and explosion told him all he needed to know as he dropped beside his downed mate. _When did she put her helmet on?_ It was a question that pinned his mandibles to his jaw in a confused frown. He shook it off and carefully released it and removed the smoldering headgear. It was a complete ruin, but had clearly done what it was designed to do. Her face, though a little reddened, was free of burns. The shoulder pad of her armor had crisped and practically disintegrated at his touch. The flex-mesh beneath was still intact, however. She looked miraculously uninjured.

The instant he touched her face, she gasped in a ragged breath, sitting up to scoot back against the railing. Her eyes searched wildly and locked on his for several thunderous heartbeats. It was pretty clear what had happened. The rocket hit her and knocked the wind out of her. Being shifted had reminded her to breathe. Even still, it was a frightening thought.

Shepard's hand closed on his forearm in a vice-like grip as she nodded. Her breath was still a gasp for air. “I'm ok...”

When she attempted to move away from him to another location, he stopped her. The turian gripped her shoulder firmly and shook his head before peeking over the railing. “I'll take point.”

The commander did not argue when he moved off, staying low behind the railing. He palmed a couple of heat syncs, and began charging them. As the last standing geth spotted him and fired, he tossed those charged heat syncs at it. A split second after they bounced off its chest plate, they exploded. Bits and pieces of tech rained down where it had once stood.

“The AA gun is offline!” Tali shouted from her position just beneath the console. She had clearly taken cover below it in order to continue her work on it.

“Good. Now let's shut down the two by the tower.” Shepard ordered as she moved in the direction of the tower itself.

More geth dropped in and Shepard threw a shockwave at them. Garrus had not realized the platform spanned across the ravine until he saw a couple of them fall between the walkways. Watching them disappear to the rocky floor below, his mandible flicked at the explosions as they hit bottom.

Things had grown quiet again as they moved off the AA platform and back onto the rock strewn path. The turian's foot bumped something along the way and he glanced down. Squatting down, he looked for vitals through his visor.

“Got another body here.” he murmured and Tali moved in close. She performed the same action as before. “Is that some sort of burial right?”

“After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began.” Tali said solemnly.

“I thought that was a greeting.” Garrus said quietly.

“It is a greeting and a farewell. Making sure the dead face the stars with their hands over their hearts ensures they travel along those tides of light to the afterlife.” Tali offered.

Both the turian and his human mate nodded in understanding then. Turians did something similar when they laid their own dead to rest. He had a fair idea of what the humans did. After all, he had attended Shepard's memorial service. True, her body had not been present, but it had not made the event any less heartbreaking.

With a nod of understanding, Garrus continued forward, following Shepard as she clambered down over loss rocks and boulders. He grabbed her arm at the last possible second before she stepped on another mine and drew her back against him. His pistol cracked once and the device exploded. She locked eyes with him and h nodded before releasing her. The turian decided then that he was ready for sunrise. Rannoch's night cycle was incredibly dark without the light pollution most worlds had.

“Got a blood trail here.” Shepard said quietly as she knelt down to examine a small puddle before her.

“There's someone alive over here!” Tali shouted as they all heard the grunt. The quarian ran toward the sound.

The moment they rounded the bend, Shepard squatted down beside the fallen quarian. The man grunted and locked glowing eyes on her. “You... you heard my message? Sent out a distress call...”

“Radios are down. You a soldier?” Shepard asked as she looked his wounds over.

“Maintenance. Dorn'Hazt. I... ah... I clean engine parts.”

“This place is filled with geth. You should have hidden.” Shepard said, not unkindly.

Dorn nodded and glanced down at himself. “I thought I could buy... the other civilians... time, fight some geth... ahh.. uh... There were so many... First time I've even _held_ a gun.”

“Don't move. We've got medi-gel.” Shepard said as she loaded up a dose.

“No...” Dorn locked eyes with her briefly, his voice barely above a whisper now as his pained panting began to slow. “I've lost too much blood. Go... look for the admiral. Destroy that jamming tower.... and you can radio him.”

“We'll find him, Dorn. I promise.” Tali said firmly.

“Please...” Dorn squeezed his eyes shut in obvious pain. He reached out and gripped Tali's hand. “Please... listen. My son... Jona... he's on board a civilian ship. Tell him... his father... made it to the....... homeworld.....”

“We will. Rest well, Dorn'Hazt vas Rannoch.” Tali said before crossing the man's hands over his heart.

“Jona.... oh god... I know that name from the Allarei.” Shepard gasped softly. “That kid's lost _both_ his parents to this war now.”

“My father cost the boy his mother.” Tali shook her head. “And now...”

“Gerrel has cost his father's life.” Shepard stood, the rage clear in her tone. “We'll deal with this once we're back on the Normandy.”

“Let's... take that tower down.” Garrus growled. He knew losing one parent, even as an adult was hard. Losing both, and as a kid? He could barely imagine how that kid was going to react to that.

Shepard nodded and moved toward a short ledge. Climbing up, she continued moving ahead of them. Garrus knew the reason. She was burning off her anger. They had been together long enough now that he knew how she felt about kids being hurt. It set her blood boiling the same as his. It made him love her even more, if that was possible. When this was all over, he thought they might discuss raising a family together.

As they came to the next platform, he looked its structure over appreciatively. It was an elaborate configuration of steel girders and walkways. Big, he realized, that was what it really was. The other guns were here as well as the tower itself. He was fairly certain the geth would put up a hell of a fight to defend this. The turian was ready, however. He had snatched up the spent heat syncs around Dorn and the geth he had clearly taken down. There had been a couple dozen of them. They rattled together in the pouch at his hip.

Moving around an odd structure, they came to a ramp and headed up. The tower could be seen on a level above. The first AA gun was just below it. It fired rhythmically toward the sky. He could only guess it was attempting to lock onto to Cortez and their shuttle. The human was certainly giving it a run for its money.

“Geth turrets!” Garrus barked the second they topped the ramp and he saw them.

The entire team took cover behind the railing before them before the words had completely died on the air. Shepard threw a singularity out at the troopers and caught only a couple of them. The others seemed unphased as they moved away from their companions. Mag-boots, he realized, or the geth equivalent. That explained the metal walkways. They had been preparing against biotics, or anything else that might potentially knock them off their feet.

Peeking over the railing, he leveled his sniper rifle on it. He lined up his scope with the turret. A headshot on a geth was not the most effective way to put them down. He tracked down along the outer edge of the turret's shielding and watched, waiting for that perfect shot. When the geth shifted, he took it. The shot hit its power core, causing the chassis to explode violently.

“Nice shot.” Shepard nearly purred at him and his mandibles flared in a satisfied smile.

A moment later, she threw a shockwave at the remaining geth. It staggered them and she picked a couple off with her pistol. She was relying heavily on weapons now. Garrus knew her grasp of her biotic power was nearing its end. She teetered on the edge of burnout. He refused to let that happen. They still had Reapers to defeat. The whole of the galaxy needed Shepard intact. More importantly, he needed her.

The second the last geth in the area went down, Tali slid from cover. Opening her omni-tool, she twisted around a little and pointed toward the sound of artillery fire. “Let's look at the gun's console. We should be able to disable it from there.”  
The team headed for the giant swiveling gun as one. Shepard split off from them and headed up the steps toward the console to look it over. The commander looked out across the crashing sea beyond in thought. Garrus stayed well away from the railing here. He had never seen so much water in one place. It was unnerving, to say the least.

“Who do you want on this gun, Shepard?” he asked cautiously. If she chose him, he would do it, but all that water....

“I want you on this, Tali. It doesn't look like Reaper tech.” Shepard said, motioning toward the console.

Garrus let out a quiet sigh of relief. Somewhere warm and tropic came to mind, but he knew most places like that had beaches. _Beaches mean water, you idiot. Lots of water. Better get used to it now. Shepard will expect it when you finally suggest it_.

“Right.” Tali, to her credit, did not hesitate to jog up those steps to that console.

“Should hop in that turret, Shepard. You just know the geth are going to make this one ugly.” Garrus suggested. This was the second gun. He thought there must be at least one more.

The commander nodded and headed a quick clip toward the turret. They were both expecting heavy resistance at this point. No way the geth were going to make this easy. Stomach growling, Garrus decided he was not going to make it easy on the geth either. He wanted dinner and a few hours of downtime. The geth were about to learn a valuable lesson here; never get between a turian and his dinner.

“Here they come!” Shepard barked as she starting firing that gun turret at a horde of geth racing up the walkway.

Garrus threw out a couple of charged heat syncs at the ones that managed to make it past his bondmate's fire. Shepard spun that turret around, firing at the enemy as if she were born to it. The gun appeared to rattling her very bones, however. _She's gonna feel that later_. His mandibles pinched in toward his jaw at that thought.

“Oh, crap... prime!” he barked the second he saw the red painted giant geth stomping along the walkway.

“I got him.” Shepard called and brought the gun turret around to bare on the metal monster.

“One less to worry about!” Garrus hooted as the geth took a couple dozen hits and dropped to the walkway in pieces.

“This gun's offline!” Tali shouted from her position at the console.

“Let's get the last one.” Shepard said as she stepped off the turret's platform.

“Geth coming through the door!” Garrus yelled as he took several steps backward and ducked behind the railing.

It was Tali who took the pair of geth out. She had aimed her assault rifle at the fuel tank on one of their backs. It blew, taking both machines with it. A moment later, they were moving past the debris through a corridor. It struck Garrus that they might actually be moving directly beneath that jamming tower.

The turian expected this gun to go much the same as the others had. Some instinctive feeling had caused him to bring up his weak biotic shield before stepping out into the open. He never thought he would take a hit, however indirect it was, to his chest plate from a missile. The impact staggered him and he dropped to his knees. A huge dent crumpled in part of his armor with a smoldering hole at its center. He took a breath and then another. The pain was dull, more like a bruise. A gasping chuckle escaped him when he realized his kinetic barriers and biotic shielding had damped down the impact from fatal to inconsequential.

“Garrus!” Shepard's cry of near panic came to him as he slipped into cover.

“I'm ok. Can't say as much for my armor.” he laughed in relief.

“Cocky turian.” she growled at him with a shake of her head.

“Another hit like that...” Tali began.

“Let's.... not go there.” Garrus rumbled as he fired on the geth that had nearly caused his demise.

Glancing around the moment he had a chance, Garrus realized he was wrong about the tower's exact location. From the look of things it was set up on an outcropping at the edge of that sea. He was glad then that Cortez would be the one to take that thing down. The turian did not think he was ready to be that close to so much water just yet.

Shepard moved to their right, toward a holo-console mounted to the wall. She examined it with her omni-tool quickly with a nod. “Data on the jamming tower. This could be useful.”

The made their way to the gun console and Tali moved toward it with a singular determination. She knew what she was doing, there was no doubt of that. “I've got this, Shepard. Keep them off me.”

Shepard nodded and hopped into the gun turret near the center of the platform. Garrus took cover not far away and picked off whatever she missed. He had been correct, this round went much the same as the last three. The difference was the primes. There were more of them and they were harder to put down.

“Offline!” Tali yelled after several long moments of fighting.

“That's it! That's the last of them!” Garrus called as the last prime went down under his sniper rifle's scope.


	81. A Chaotic Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team is hungry after they return to the Normandy and the mess hall is packed.

“I'll signal the shuttle.” Shepard let out a breath before swapping her pistol for a flair gun. The commander aimed it high and fired, the blazing red streamer soaring high into the night sky.

Minutes only, that was how long they waited to see the Kodiak fly in. It fired several precision shots at the tower. The second the top of the tower exploded, there was a burst of static from the radio frequencies.

“Dorn? It's Zaal'Koris! Are you there? Dorn!” the admiral's desperate plea came across the comm the instant that tower was disabled.

“This is Commander Shepard. Dorn didn't make it, Admiral.” she said calmly.

“He didn't?” Koris asked quietly. “I see.”

“I'm coming in with a shuttle. Where are you?” Shepard asked as she headed purposely after her team into the shuttle in question.

“My surviving crew found their way into a clearing. I'll upload their location.” he insisted.

“Stay together. We'll meet you there.” Shepard said firmly.

“No, the geth have cut me off. I hear another wave approaching.” he said, sounding resigned to his fate.

“Give us your coordinates.” Shepard refused to let this man martyr himself to save his crew.

“Leave me. My crew will soon be overrun.” he said fatalistically.

“So will you and I'm not obliging your death wish, now where are you!” she snapped at him.

“My people are noncombatants, Shepard! They'll be slaughtered! Rescue them!” Koris insisted through the sounds of gunfire.

“Admiral, I need you _leading_ the civilian fleet if we're gonna to end this fight.” Shepard tried again with a sharper edge to her voice. Something had to get through to this stubborn man.

“Civilians? Our entire race took up arms for this insanity! It's too late for us!” Koris said in a near mocking tone. It was clear he was directing it toward his own people's mistakes.

“It's only too late if you die down here!” Shepard raged at the idiot.

“You can't possibly think you can stop this war!” he raged right back.

“ _I don't know!_ ” it cost her to admit that, but she continued to yell at him. “What I _do_ know is that I _can't_ do it without your help!”

The wait for his reply was long enough that she had begun to think he might have been killed already. She shifted uncomfortably in the silence, glancing at the faces of her team. This whole war was already lost if that stubborn man had lost his life arguing the finer points of his position.

“Ancestors, forgive me. Uploading my coordinates.” Koris said with a sigh of resignation.

“We're coming.” Shepard said with a sigh of relief.

As Cortez took the shuttle back into the air, Shepard keyed those coordinates to his console. The moment that was done, she headed toward the hatch and squatted down to pull an access panel free. Looking to Garrus, she motioned him to join her. She nodded toward the gun turret tucked below the deck plates. He caught on quickly and helped her raise it up. The turian held it in position as she quickly torqued a couple of lugs into place to secure it. The second they reached the coordinates, she hit the hatch release and climbed onto the turret.

“There's the admiral!” Tali shouted as they all saw him hunkered down behind a boulder.

“I've got this.” Shepard said coldly and aimed for the geth making their way toward the quarian. She opened fire, the turret rocking the shuttle slightly as Cortez compensated.

“You're clear! Go!” Shepard shouted into her comm, still patched into the admiral's channel.

They watched him run, a tiny figure on the edge of the precipice. Shepard thought the structure of quarian legs would make them run funny, but Koris ran almost like a human male. He ducked behind outcroppings a few times and slipped out, running hard for as long as the space was open to him.

“Get in cover! Geth at your back!” Shepard yelled the instant she saw them dropping from the cliff above.

Koris obeyed quickly, dropping behind a large outcropping of rock and weeds. He fired a couple of potshots off at his attackers. Shepard took care of the rest with the gun turret. She made short work of those geth dumb enough to attempt to reach the man.

“Clear! Go!” Shepard called the second the last one fell. She realized one of her team had opened the hatch on the other side of the shuttle to vent the exhaust from the turret as she felt the gust of wind at her back.

Cortez brought the shuttle in low to the end of the cliff as Koris ran, firing back at those geth still dropping down onto the path behind him. Shepard could no longer cover him with the turret for risk of hitting him instead. She kicked the release and the turret dropped into the floor. Pulling her pistol, she returned fire on the geth aiming at the shuttle.

“Admiral! Come on!” she yelled at the quarian.

One geth in particular evaded her shots and aimed a mini-launcher at her. If Tali had not grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, it might have hit her. Instead, it flew harmlessly past her and out the hatch on the other side.

Koris ran for the shuttle and jumped a bit higher than any human could have to land on his feet beside her. As he turned to glare at the geth below, she nodded to him. “Welcome aboard.”

As the hatches closed, the quarian turned to her, a look of desperation spread across his face. “Shepard... my crew. Perhaps there's still time.”

“Hello? This is Zaal'Koris. Does anyone copy? Hello!” She watched him rush to the terminal mounted on the bulkhead and key in a couple of codes. Static answered his shouts and he bowed his head.

Shepard gave it a couple of minutes, just to be sure. When nothing but static continued to answer his call, she stepped forward. “We've gotta go.”

Koris let out a sigh and turned, sitting down to lean on his elbows and folding his hands together. “I pray they found comfort in the homeworld's skies.”

Cortez took the shuttle back through the atmosphere and toward the Normandy. Koris was speaking quietly through a private comm with someone. Shepard suspected it might be the other admirals. His expression was dark through the glass of his mask.

The admiral looked up at her, locking glowing eyes to hers with a nod and a sigh of frustration. “You _were_... right that I return. Unrest has spread further than I thought.”

“Has Xen patched you through to the civilian captains? Will they stay with the flotilla?” she asked as she took a seat beside.

“It appears so. They're regrouping around the core of the fleet.” he let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck beneath all the tubing. “If we hadn't stopped them from...”

Shepard tentatively put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. She was about to get back to her feet when he stopped her, gripping her elbow carefully. Her eyes found his and he bowed his head for a moment. Then, with a nod, he looked back up. “Any aid I can offer is yours. I'd give anything to stop the madness of this war.”

“And that's why your people needed you back.” Shepard said softly and patted his shoulder.

“Yes, I see that now. There are still many out there we can help.” Koris nodded again. “I'll be returning to the flotilla as soon as we land in your shuttle bay.”

“Good to hear. Maybe you can talk a little more sense into Xen.” Shepard gave him a small smile.

“I doubt that... she's very... _headstrong_.” he gave her a slight laugh.

“Not quite what I'd call it.” Shepard chuckled.

“Yes, well...” he nodded and looked down at his hands, fingers lacing together. “I was being polite.”

True to his word, the second the hatch opened in the Normandy's shuttle bay, he headed straight from the quarian shuttle sitting on the opposite side of the room. The pilot guided the shuttle past the Normandy's kinetic field and out into space before the bay's ramp closed once more. Shepard nodded to herself in satisfaction the moment the bay door sealed.

Food, she needed food and rest before she took on that Reaper base Raan had detected. There was no way she was racing across another big swatch of Rannoch with just her guns. Her biotics were a big part of her fighting strategies. Half burned out as they were, they were doing her no good. Maybe she could drag Garrus to their quarters with her. He needed some downtime too. There was no way he had recovered from that knock to the head already. She was fairly certain, from the strained look in his eyes, that he probably had the mother of all headaches.

“Alright... my vote is for dinner and lots of it.” Shepard finally said as she patted her bondmate's arm on the way to the elevator.

“Absolutely...” Garrus hummed and held his hands up in indication of an imaginary plate. “The biggest kantog steak I can dig out of the cold storage drawer. A couple of koosans and...”

“Tholam berry tea...” Tali said wistfully as she followed them.

“Good pick.” Garrus flicked his mandibles at her in a brief smile.

“Oranges...” Shepard sighed, remembering that koosans were the dextro equivalent to the Earth fruit.

“I still don't get why humans call them oranges, but...” Garrus sighed as he and Tali followed Shepard onto the elevator. “You should try one, Tali. They're naturally double chirality. _Amazing_ flavor.”

“Only if it's properly sterilized first.” Tali said with a nod.

Talk of food continued all the way to the mess hall. It became pretty obvious that her team was just as hungry as she was. Most of the crew was in the mess hall when the elevator opened on it, or so it appeared. Packed did not even begin to describe the large room at the center of the Normandy's belly. Even some of their guests were parked around a table.

Scanning the room thoughtfully, Shepard glanced at Garrus. His mandibles had fallen slack and his mouth was open slightly at the sight that met them. Clearly he had not been expecting so many to be packed around the tables either.

“I think I have a ration bar back in the war room.” Tali said uncertainly as she stopped to Shepard's left.

“Do... we still have those ration packs in our quarters?” Garrus asked quietly, one hand rubbing the barely visible crack above his visor frame.

“Uh-huh.” Shepard hummed, eyes narrowing at the crowd and realizing neither she nor her team were prepared to deal with them.

“Good.” the turian rumbled and grabbed her hand. Before she could protest, he towed her back into the elevator with him and hit the button for their level.

Shepard let out a quiet laugh on a sigh as she shook her head. Her eyes were locked on the door realizing they had just left Tali high and dry. She shook her head and glanced up at him, pursing her lips into that lopsided smile she gave only him.

“So what's the plan?” she asked, stepping in closer to him and resting one hand on his armored keel.

“Dinner and a vid?” he purred softly.

“ _Fleet and Flotilla?_ ” Shepard asked, leaning into him a fraction.

“You read my mind.” he rumbled softly, his sub-harmonics reverberating through her core as he leaned down and pressed his plated brow against her forehead.

“Are you trying to seduce me, Officer Vakarian?” her voice was barely above a whisper as she ran her hand up to the hide along the side of his neck. She caressed those tiny scales that peppered the hide there.

“I... uh... I don't... know what you're... talking about.” he stammered slightly

“You sure about that?” she breathed against his throat as she stood up on her tiptoes.

“Is it working?” he growled, his hand flexing against her waist.


	82. Passionate Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus and Shepard forgo food to 'blow off steam'. Smut/fluff chapter ensues.

“Cocky turian....” the commander breathed, leaning into him as the elevator opened.

Garrus rumbled at the breathy tone of her voice. He so loved the way she just relaxed into him. No one else had this effect on her. Even during those rare moments of downtime on the SR-1, he had never seen her relax so much with Alenko. The thought came unbidden, but he realized there had been a tension between the two that he and Shepard did not have. It had not been a pleasant kind of tension.

“You love it.” he murmured, dragging himself back to the here and now as he guided her toward the door to their quarters.

“You know I do.” she hummed and keyed the door open.

The second it opened, her hand gripped the rim of his armored cowl and dragged him through the door. His mandibles flared at the show of strength when she unbalanced him and he all but stumbled in after her. He pulled his gloves off and tossed them against the wall adjoined to the bathroom. The moment they were free, he drove his hands into her hair, gently pulling her bun loose and pressing his brow-plates against her forehead again.

Garrus closed his eyes briefly to inhale deeply of her scent. It did not matter to him that she still smelled of gun grease and battle. If he were honest with himself, those mingling scents just seemed to enhance the experience. Her natural scent poured through it, overwhelming it all and he savored it. Her hands were on his waist, unfastening the clasps of his armor. Those small hands left him wanting as they moved off to the upper section of his armor. He heard the faint whirring of the servos as she pressed the seals to release the lugs. The pressure around his carapace eased as they released and he reluctantly released her to reached for the clasps within the ring of his cowl. Her hands had found most of those and released them quickly enough, he simply finished the job.

She paused and pressed her hands to the edges of the charred hole in the front of his chest armor with a frown. “This could have been bad.”

“I'm fine... Barely felt it.” he drawled with a faint grumble as he took hold of the cowl ring and gave it a firm upward tug.

The moment it was free, he lifted the ring over his head and dropped it on the floor with a heavy thump. Shepard let out a faint chuckle as she nipped at the tips of his left mandible. Moving toward the stairs with him, he pulled the carapace plating open along the left seam and allowed it to slip free of his torso. It followed the cowl ring and practically slid down the stairs beside him.

They stumbled down the stairs, one of his hands on the back of her neck, the other grazing the railing for balance. Both of her arms wrapped around his waist, squeezing slight, and he let out a faint growl that twined along with the anxious vibrations of his sub-harmonics. A strangled grunt followed as his groin plates suddenly released and he hit the hard barrier of his cod piece.

“You alright?” Shepard breathed, he could feel the smile against his neck. He was absolutely certain she knew full well exactly what had just happened.

“More or less.” he grunted as he reached for the clips that held the cod piece in place.

Garrus did not get the chance to release the offending piece of armor as her hands gripped the upper edge just below his waist. The look of determination that came across her face when she looked up at him nearly took his breath. She made quick work of releasing the thing and tossing it to the side.

“Spirits... I love... when you do that.” his voice was little more than a whisper as he ducked his brow to hers once more.

The shields over his hip crests followed the cod piece quickly. Her armor virtually disappeared as they parted long enough for him to shuck the armor from his legs. They were both down to their undersuits when they came back together. He rubbed his mandibles against her cheeks slowly, affectionately, his sub-harmonics thrumming with everything he felt for this small human in his arms. Part of him wondered vaguely if he might ever manage the courage to tell her in a spoken language she could understand. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew, but hearing it...

Sub-harmonics humming and trilling in low rumbles exactly what he felt for her, he followed her down onto their bed when she dropped onto the mattress. He made sure to land at her side instead of on top of her. His keel could do some serious damage if he should happen to miss and land on her. The last thing he wanted was to injure his bondmate while attempting to 'blow off steam'.

Somehow, they managed to slither up toward the head of the bed and he reluctantly parted from her long enough to put his visor on the nightstand. She was grabbing pillows and tucking them around him as he resettled against the headboard. His hands were on the closures of her undersuit as she straddled his thighs. Hers was easier, fewer buckles and clasps. There was just a simple zipper, the tab next to impossible to get a hold of until he resorted to his talon tips. He had it down and was peeling her out of the clinging fabric in a matter of seconds. Her hands were working around his neck at the same time, loosening the upper section of his undersuit. His suit took longer as his structure required more seals and closures.

Garrus helped her with with the top of the suit by pulling the seals open around his cowl. The yoke of the suit, he pulled over his head quickly. It slipped down his back as she peeled the upper section open. Stripping him of his undersuit took some time, but neither of them was about to lose interest this far into the game.

Shepard raised up on her knees before him and threw her head back as he nipped his way down the column of her neck. A moaning gasp of near ecstasy escaped her as his calloused palms smoothed down over her shoulder blades, sliding slowly to the small of her back and around her hips. She had pinned his erection between them and it twitched in anxious demand.

Shifting her position slightly, she rose up over him and pressed her forehead to his brow-plates. Hair falling around her face, she smiled as it rasped against his facial plates. Her hands gripped his cowl as she locked eyes with him. His hands cupped either side of her face, talons lightly grazing across the back of her neck as she aligned herself and slowly sank down onto him. His shaft slipped in one deliciously agonizing ridge at a time until he was seated to his plates. They both gasped with a moan of deep satisfaction at the sensation of completion.

*

Shepard kept her eyes locked to his icy blue orbs as she settled onto him ever so slowly. It was torture so sweet she could not help but smile at him. Her eyes closed and a breathy moan escaped her parted lips as that small bundle of eight thousand nerves came to rest against the ridge that made up the top of his seam. He filled her in a way no human man ever could.

Gripping the back rim of his cowl, she pulled herself upward until she felt him nearly slip free of her. She pressed a kiss to his rough mouth plates before easing back down. He let out an open mouthed sigh at the sensations coursing through them both and his eyes slid shut. Their breath intermingled and she licked the inside of his upper mouth plates, encouraging him to breathe, to kiss her back. These first moments of union were always some of the most intense.

Moving back up, she continued the slow rocking motion until his hips snapped up to meet her in a hard buck. That drew a smile across her face and she kissed him harder then, slipping her tongue past his mouth plates. He moaned and rolled his tongue over hers. Her turian had picked up on human kissing as if he had been born to it in just a few hours during their first encounter.

Shifting her legs to press against his sides, she squeezed slightly with each upward motion. Pleasure was building through her core and her body demanded an increase in the rhythm. Arching her back, she increased the speed of her movements. His hands gripped her hips, but did not hinder the rocking of her body. Instead of rising up so far and allowing his length to slip so close to exiting, she began to grind against him harder. His breathing matched hers gasp for gasp.

They were both nearing that peak, she could feel it in the way he met her motions and his slightly expanding girth. She squeezed her inner muscles around him and his breath caught, mandibles fluttering. He nipped at her lips before pressing his brow-plates against her forehead again, eyes locked to hers.

“I love you...” she whispered, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck. Again she whispered her love for him against the receiver where his right ear pore had been, rubbing her face against his scarred mandible.

The point of ecstasy building between them was drawing into a white-hot core of pleasure nearing its inevitable climax. His thumbs were rubbing over her hipbones, talons grazing her skin as they road out the sensations.

*

Garrus was about to crest that wave with her. She took him higher than any turian woman ever had and held him there for what seemed an eternity. He thought he was going to lose his mind every time they joined together. Every time was like the first time and every time his sub-harmonics thrummed with emotions he could not begin to express. They tore their way out of his half shattered soul through action and sub-harmonic rumbling.

Some part of him still wondered if he had died on Omega. He wondered if this was some twisted version of heaven. Another part of him wondered if he was dreaming. Would he wake up at gunpoint only to die there on that balcony fighting off all of Omega's gangs? He hoped not. Garrus hoped fervently that this was real, that Shepard was truly in his arms. He had questioned so much since Omega, his PTSD having reared its ugly head a few times. It was far worse than he had ever thought it could be.

Those thoughts slipped from him like oil as his mind refocused on the human female in his arms. His body responded to her motions, breath growing shorter, faster as that pleasure point continued to increase. He let out a groan as she rubbed against his mandible and whispered her love for him against the cybernetic receiver again. His head was swimming in ecstasy as his hips met hers with every motion.

Garrus let out a faint moan next to her ear as he nipped at the lobe. He wanted to tell her. The words were right there, on the tip of his tongue. He need only breathe them. It was so much easier in his native tongue. She could not understand him. It did not feel so much like a promise hope in a hopeless galaxy. The last person he had uttered that term of endearment to had died mere hours later. His breath caught at the sensations coursing through his nervous system as much as the emotions tangling up within him. He did not want to jinx this.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he nuzzled into her shoulder over the bondmark he had left there. He reigned in that intense feeling of dread. Wrapping his arms around her ribs, he gently gripped that mark between his mouth plates. She let out a panting moan, getting closer. He realized it was now or never as he nipped and licked his way up toward her ear.

With a hard buck of his hips and a gasping grunt, he knew his release was about to thunder through him like a breaking wave. Soon, so very soon he would be reduced to turian mush. His voice, when it came, was an exhaled rumble. The turian equivalent of a purr.

“Ma-kee-sa, nix-ah ru ay adawa.” he breathed over her ear, voice more sub-harmonics than vocals as they crested that wave together. He let the emotions flow freely then through his secondary vocal cords, pouring all of his heart into them. “En nix-ah sus... nos ta le-asa...”

Sub-harmonics were the easy part. He rumbled his emotions through them on a regular basis. It was different now that he was fairly certain she could hear and possibly understand them. Vocalizing with his translator turned on, that was harder than he ever thought it would be. All his hopes and fears tangled up around his throat. It nearly dampened the beginning afterglow as he struggled to say those three little words to her.

Finally, he realized any day could be their last. Any night he held her in his arms could the last time. The thought nearly broke him and those words he longed to say to her slipped free of his throat in a keening gasp. His voice a whisper so faint, he was sure she had not heard it. “I... love... you...”

*

Shepard's arms tightened around him and she buried her face in his neck just above the rim of his cowl. Though the meaning of some of his words was completely lost to her, the English was crystal clear. She felt them more than heard them. The realization hit her that he had not actually vocalized them. Her turian had rumbled them along his sub-harmonic tones and she had heard them. She was certain some of it had been spoken along his normal vocal range, however. Part of her did not care. He had finally said the words. That was what mattered most to her.

Later, she would figure the rest out later. Her hearing had been changing for months now, increasing. This was not the first time she had heard and understood turian sub-harmonic speech. She had thought, the first couple of times, that it was just her imagination. Now she knew better.

Uncoiling just a fraction, she cupped his jaw, thumbing his mandibles gently and rested her forehead against his. Her eyes locked lazily to his as he ran his hands up and down her back. She could see his emotions clearly in those beautiful blue eyes. There was no doubt left in her as to what she thought she had heard.

Kissing him passionately enough to rekindle a spark of desire between them, she gave him that lopsided smile. “I love you too, Garrus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turian Language:
> 
> Ma-kee-sa, nix-ah ru ay adawa. - Beloved, love of my life.
> 
> En nix-ah sus, nos ta le-asa. - I love you, now and always.


	83. Dirt Bath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus reveals another secret of his race to his bondmate and finds her reaction comforting.

“Food...” Shepard sighed wistfully in his arms.

Garrus nuzzled into her ear, toying with a lock of her hair between the talons of his right hand. Her head rested in the crook of that arm and he leaned over a little more to run his left hand over her shoulder. His stomach let out a loud complaint and his sub-harmonics rumbled in a whining pitch of protest.

“Sleep.......” he breathed, ignoring his protesting gut.

“Food, Vakarian. Shower, then sleep.” Shepard said softly, turning her head to rub her nose against his.

A plate-less nose rubbing against his was an odd sensation. He enjoyed it greatly and flicked a mandible at her, eyes still closed. She shifted to get up and he groaned, tightening his arms around her stubbornly.

“I'm gonna start chewin' on you if you don't let me up.” she whispered near his ear pore.

“Hmm... is that a promise?” he purred, nuzzling into her neck before flicking his tongue against her pulse point.

“Garrus.” she grumbled softly.

“Fine.” he sighed and rolled away from her, releasing her from the cage of his arms.

Yawning, scarred mandible popping painfully, he sat up and scratched the plates around his amp. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and ducked his head into his hands. Scratching between the frills of his fringe, he realized he was itching... everywhere. It was maddening. That itch felt as if it was under his plates.

A ration bar appeared before him and he took it, still scratching at the scales behind his jaw. He was about to open the bar when Shepard's hand gripped the one still digging at his hide. Looking up at her, he realized he really had been digging.

There was a frown of concern on her face as she squatted down before him. She reached up and ran a hand along one of the itching patches of hide and her frown deepened. “Your plates are flaking.”

Garrus ran the pads of his fingers along those tiny scales behind his jaw and grunted when the top most surface of one flaked off in his hand. His breath came in an irritated sigh. “Crap....”

“Medbay, now.” Shepard growled at him.

“This is... a... hmm... a normal process.” he shook his head, dropping the scale peeling on the floor and ripped that ration bar open.

“ _This_...” she took the flaked from the floor and held it up to him. “... is _not_ normal, Garrus!”

“Hmmm..” he grunted with a nod as he munched on that ration bar for a moment. “Molting.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” she grumbled in obvious confusion.

“Haven't... uh... haven't oiled... in awhile.” he admitted.

“How long's awhile, Garrus? This looks bad.” she asked and ran a couple of fingertips over the newly raw hide just below his left ear pore.

“Two or three showers...” he shrugged with a yawn as he scratched absently at his thigh. Then, with a nod, he reluctantly continued. “Couple other things I haven't done in almost a year. Need to... get to that soon.”

“Up! Let's go.” she barked and snatched the hand digging into the wavy plates of his thigh. She stood and dragged him to his feet. “We're getting a shower and then I'm _drowning_ you in oil.”

“Shepard...” he grumbled softly, but followed her up the stairs toward the bathroom.

“Don't argue, Garrus. We're oiling your plates.” there was clearly no option for escape in her words.

“Fine, but it'll have to be sealed in... once it's dry.” he mumbled as she stopped before the shower nobs and began to adjust them.

Frowning back at him, she locked eyes with him. “How so?”

“There's a crate from Palaven in the shuttle bay.” he titled his head to the side before stepping toward her and the now steaming water.

“Garrus, that crate is full of dirt.” she said in exasperation.

“Hmm... right. You'll see why later.” he chuckled and ducked into the water to scrub at that maddening itch.

Shepard was not kidding when she suggested drowning him in oil. Once the water was turned off, she slathered him up in four full jars. He was dripping and forced to dig his talons into the floor mat. The only other option was to slip and bust his leathery ass in the puddles forming around him. He rolled his eyes with a grunt when she produced yet another jar.

Shaking his head, he gently gripped her wrist and extracted the jar from her hands, setting it down on the counter. “We're just wasting oil now. It has to soak in or it's just going to drip off.”

She gave him a concerned frown until he indicated the slick puddles of oil around them. Ever so carefully, he stretched toward the shelves and reached for a towel. Snatching it with a talon tip, he yanked it to him and began to pat himself dry. This was a mess, but he loved her for it. His plates had darkened to a rich gray through the treatment and that maddening itch had settled down. He was still going to peel, there was no way around that, but there were ways to sooth it and accelerate the process.

“It's past time I cracked that crate in the shuttle bay open.” Garrus sighed and dropped the towel on the floor to mop up some of the oil.

“Alright.” Shepard nodded and stepped out of the room. A moment later, she came back with one of his undersuits.

“Oh, you're coming with me.” he purred and draped the outfit over his forearm. As an afterthought, he grabbed his bathing brush and headed out of the room.

Shepard cocked a brow at him, but said nothing as they left their quarters and entered the elevator. He had opted not to put his undersuit on. It was late, Vega and Cortez were likely to be bunked down. They would not be disturbed, or so he hoped.

The moment they stepped off the elevator, he realized he was wrong. Cortez was tinkering with the shuttle's thrusters. Vega was doing pull-ups, surprisingly facing the bay. The pilot did not notice them. The meat mountain lost his grip on the bar above him and dropped to the floor.

“Oh hell, Scars! Put some damn clothes on!” Vega barked indignantly and played at shielding his eyes.

This drew Cortez' attention. The man peeked around and snorted with a shake of his head before going back to his work. They could hear him chuckling as he torqued his wrench a few times.

“You should be sleeping, Vega.” Shepard grumbled at him as she stopped beside the create at the far end of the bay.

Garrus locked eyes with the man and growled slightly. Molting was always an irritable time for him. Vega nodded and stepped back into the depths of his cubical for a moment. Then, without another glance, he simply headed for the elevator.

“Come on, Esteban. Time for siesta.” Vega called toward the pilot.

“I'm nearly finished here anyway.” Cortez said quietly and followed the man.

The second the bay was empty, Garrus turned back toward that create. Looking it over for a minute, he released a couple of clips along the top and lowered what could only be described as some kind of tray. When he was satisfied that it was in position, he opened the seals on the side of the crate. He looked pointedly at Shepard when he heard the beginnings of a protest. Palaven's fine sand filled the tray and he squatted down to run his hands through it. His mandibles flared at the feeling. A moment later, he cupped his hands in it and brought it up to his face, scrubbing gently.

"What the hell are you doing, Vakarian?" there was faint shock radiating through her voice.

"Spirits... this is bliss." he groaned as if in the throes of passion seconds before he crawled across the sand and dug himself in.

"I get that, but what... _exactly_... are you doing?" her voice was taking on an edge of irritation at the unknown.

Squirming deeper into the sand, he just laid there, rubbing his right mandible into it rhythmically for a moment. He let out a sigh of deep contentment as the itching between his plates ceased. His mandibles flared as he looked up at her, a lazy half-lidded expression pinning itself to his face. “You haven't seen it yet, have you?”

“Seen what... exactly?” she grumbled. “You're not making much sense here.”

“I mentioned molting before you dragged me to the shower and practically drown me in oil.” he rumbled softly, the flare of his mandibles increasing slightly.

“Molting? Like a bird?” she sounded reluctant to ask the questions due to the word that was generally slung at his people so brutally.

Garrus simply nodded. That word, coming from her, he knew would never be a slur. It was simply a reference point from her world. “Hmmm... another thing turians have in common with them... apparetnly.”

“But... you don't have feathers..” she said, a frown of confusion on her face.

“No... not as adults, but our plates peel every few years. Itches like ten million plate-fleas too.” Garrus rumbled as he dug in deeper and squirmed a bit more.

“Wait... fleas?” Shepard held up a hand, her lips parted slightly in disbelief.

“Oh, turians don't have fleas, Shepard. Most of Palaven's wildlife does though.” he paused in thought for a moment, his mandibles pinching in close to his jaw as he sat up. “Domestic animals have them too. _Spirits_ , if those things infest a residence, they'll crawl all over everything living there. Turians included.”

“Domestic animals? I didn't think turians kept pets.” Shepard said thoughtfully, squatting down.

“It's pretty common for families with young children.” he said simply.

“So... how does this help?” his bondmate asked, changing the subject and waving a hand at the fine sand.

“Hmm...” Garrus purred and closed his eyes for a moment. “Strips away the excess oil, seals in the rest and helps scour the peeling plates.”

“Uh-huh. Are you saying I overdid the oil?” she gave him a half smile at that.

“ _Maybe_...” he stressed the word by indicating barely an inch of space between his thumb and index. He looked at her sideways, eyes squinting as a smile spread across his mandibles. “...just a little.”

“How often do you need to do this?” she asked curiously as she looked the tray of sand over thoughtfully.

“Not often. Maybe once a year... _if_ I don't neglect the oil after showers.” he sighed and stood up, patting the loose sand free. Before he even bothered to step out of the tray, he snagged his bathing brush and began sweeping the loose dust from himself carefully.

The moment he was satisfied with his work, he stepped over to the crate again. Keying a couple of buttons on the side, he stepped back quickly. A moment later the tray slowly lifted, pouring the sand back into the open side of the crate. It took barely three minutes to contain the sand once more and seal the crate. He had lost very little of it, and that only due to his squirming. Later, he would need another shower to remove what little sand remained from his creases, but that would require more oil. For now, he was content just to let it work into his hide and plates.

“Alright...” she nodded and stood with the painful sounding pop of a knee. “Food... the ration bars aren't gonna cut it.”

“Right.” he nodded as he squirmed into his undersuit.

The process was so much faster with her help when she tugged and pulled it into place. Looking down at her, his mandibles flared slightly as she fastened a couple of the seals. She must have sensed his gaze because she glanced up with a faint smile. His race still had a couple of big surprises in store for her, but she had taken this one fairly well. He found the acceptance comforting.


	84. Planning the Strike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raan corners Shepard in the mess hall in regards to the geth fighter squadron.

Shepard was not really sure what she thought of the turian dirt bath she had just witnessed. The fact that Garrus was comfortable enough to share that with her sent a thrill through her chest. She had seen the look in his eyes when he had virtually chased Vega and Cortez from the shuttle bay. It seemed to her that might not have been the first instance from their reactions.

The elevator doors opened on that damned wall as they reached the crew deck and she hung back for a moment. Garrus noticed and glanced back at her. The connection seemed to click across his face as he glanced along her line of sight, then back at her. He tilted his head to the side, mandibles drawn in against his jaw and stepped back toward her.

Silently, he offered her his hand with a faint nod. She was not sure if he understood the dread that swept over her every time she saw that wall or not, but this gesture was endearing. Her eyes wandered toward that wall again and she made a conscious effort to drag them back to her bondmate's face. There was mild concern clouding his eyes even as she took his hand.

Snapping that 'commander mask' in to place for some measure of control, she nodded and walked with him past that wall. As they rounded the bend in the corridor, it became clear the mess hall was not as empty as they had hoped. Raan and Tali were sitting at the far table, their heads together over data pads and omni-tools. Raan happened to look up as the commander's boot scraped on the deck.

“Commander. I had hoped to catch you soon.” the woman said, getting to her feet and heading her way with a data pad in hand. “We've located the Reaper base transmitting the local signal.”

“You do realize this is our sleep cycle...” Shepard grumbled at the woman.

“Yes, but clearly you are not asleep.” Raan grumbled right back and held out the data pad. “With the Reaper code upgrades, the geth are tearing the fleet apart, Commander. Every moment we wait means another ship may be lost.”

Shepard groaned inwardly as Raan held the data pad out and showed her a live feed of the system. It was true, the geth were slaughtering the quarians. Taking the data pad, she resigned herself to a sleepless night.

“Alright, we'll head for the war room. We should have Legion's input on this anyway.” the commander nodded and glanced up at Garrus. “Go catch a couple hours downtime. I'll sort out a plan of attack.”

“Hmm... I... uh... I don't think so. You'll need me at your six, Shepard... I can't be effective if I don't know the plan.” he protested and she frowned. It almost sounded as if he was protesting about honor, duty and being the best tactician the Hierarchy had to offer.

“I need you _alert_ and ready for anything. I'll wake you when we've got a working plan.” she said calmly as she gently tugged the tips of his left mandible.

“I still think I should be there. I can catch a nap in the shuttle.” he grumbled softly.

“ _Alert_ , Vakarian. Not just awake.” she emphasized.

Garrus nodded and proceeded to follow her and Raan to the elevator. It was pretty clear he was going to stubbornly follow through with his own ideas here. Shepard had to admit, she could use his input with this. She realized they were both in for a sleepless night. Some part of her was not even certain he could sleep alone anymore. She knew she could not, not after so many months bonded to her turian.

“Your geth seems somehow more than the sum of its parts, Commander. I simply don't understand how it could have grown, become something more.” Raan was saying as the elevator reached the command deck.

“Maybe it has something to do with his unique code.” Shepard mumbled, unwilling to divulge the fact that Legion had been the source of the transmission from the dreadnought.

“I suspect it has more to do with the Reapers.” Raan grumbled as they made their way into the war room. “The Reaper local signal may well be affecting your geth.”

Shepard noted the use of the phrase 'your geth' when Raan referred to Legion. The quarian was refraining from using his name. It was beginning to rub her the wrong way. The geth was an individual whether he admitted it or not. She only wished the quarians could see it that way.

“We must shut that signal down. As you can see,” Raan waved her hand at the scaled down hologram of the system and the struggling forces within. “The Reaper controlled geth are still tearing through the Heavy Fleet. One misplaced shot and they will hit our liveships.”  
“Once the signal is disabled, the geth will pose no threat to creator forces.” Legion said, locking his attention in the direction of the holo-map.

Shepard glanced at Legion with a faint frown. “You sound conflicted.”

“While the Old Machines have unethical purposes, their upgrades have vastly improved our people.” Legion said stepping over to the console to pull up a holo-model of geth code. “Observe.”

“The geth processing signal. A single unit, I believe.” Raan stated after only a few seconds of staring at the coursing blue pattern.

“Correct.” Legion stated and pulled up another model. “Now, ten nearby units networked cooperatively.”

“There's more activity.” Garrus observed from the position he had taken against the railing of the upper level.

“Yes.” Legion confirmed before pulling up another model in red instead of blue. “Here is a single geth unit with the Old Machine upgrades.”

“That's a pretty envolved AI.” Raan acknowledged.

Shepard leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at the display. It looked like brain activity to her; life. She wondered if the quarian realized that.

“Yes. We do not agree with the goals of the Old Machines, but we find this growth... beautiful. Indicative of life.” Legion nodded, a trait he had picked up from the organics around him.

Nodding herself, Shepard locked eyes with the quarian woman on the other side of the dais. “It is.”

Raan seemed to stand taller in her defiance, her voice sharp. “Commander!”

“Come on, Admiral!” Shepard growled and pointed at the model between them. “That's a living creature, no matter what platform it's running on.”

“And they will die when we destroy the base.” Legion almost sounded sad.

“They allied with the Reapers!” Raan snapped as she leaned on the dais.

“To save themselves from you.” Legion said simply.

Shepard did not miss the added note in his voice. Was that anger? Resentment? Were the geth developing emotions or was it just Legion? Those were all valid questions, she realized as she walked around the dais. “Maybe... they don't have to die.”

Raan's glowing eyes narrowed behind her mask. “Just because this one appears friendly...”  
“Well it hasn't fired on a ship with me aboard it.” Shepard reminded her coldly.

“What are you suggesting, Commander? We should disregard everything they have done....” Raan glared at her through that purple face shield.

“I'm not suggesting anything.” Shepard glared right back.

“ _Maybe_ they don't _all_ have to die. We've dealt with separate factions among the geth before...” Garrus suggested.

“It's a mote point until we take out that base.” Raan glared between the two of them and shook her head. She turned to the dais and switched it back to a view of the planet. The quarian pointed out several places in a small cluster on the surface. “The surrounding area is heavily fortified. Orbital targeting is not possible with these jamming towers in place.”

Garrus moved away from his place against the railing and joined Shepard near the other side of the dais. His eyes were roving over the holo of the planet, taking in every detail he could find. “Sounds like... we're going in on foot.”

“Yeah, not the best plan, but it'll have to do.” Shepard breathed.

“Admiral Xen developed a laser guidance system that can cut through the jamming.” Raan said, pulling up the diagram of the device. “It's synced to the Normandy's targeting computer.”

Garrus glanced up at the 'gun', for lack of a better word. His mandibles drawn in and brow-plates hooding his eyes in a deep frown. “If this thing can cut through the jamming frequency, why have a ground team going in?”

“We have to paint the target at close range, under the radar, or the Normandy won't be able to lock on.” Shepard nodded thoughtfully and glanced his way.

“Crap.” the turian's shoulders seemed to sag a fraction before he met her eyes again. “That would do it though. A sure kill.”

“EDI.” Shepard called, glancing up at the ceiling. “This work for you?”

“Yes. It should enable us to make a precision strike against the Reapers.” the Normandy's AI confirmed.

“And anything else in our way.” Garrus grumbled, eyes locked to the map of the planet's surface once more.

“The geth will quickly reconfigure their jamming towers to neutralize this technology. You should not use it before reaching the base.” EDI informed them.

“Wonderful.” Shepard sighed and leaned on her hands on the dais, head dropping between her shoulders. What she really wanted was sleep. It was not going to happen, she realized as Raan closed her omni-tool. Her own pinged briefly.

“I've sent the coordinates for the Reaper base to your omni-tool. It should appear on your navpoint as soon as the shuttle drops your team on Rannoch.” Raan stated.

“So... we're clear to go...?” Garrus asked, sounding more tired than she was.

Raan looked to the turian for a moment before turning her attention back to Shepard with a shake of her head. “That geth squadron is still tearing through the fleet.”

“If Gerrel and his heavy fleet can hold out, protect your civilian fleet a little longer...” Shepard suggested. “We'll get that signal disabled.”

“If that fighter squadron isn't taken out, a lot of our ships won't make it. This is the reason we could not wait.” Raan continued to protest her situation. The quarian seemed to rethink her statement, clearly realizing the Normandy and her single shuttle would be committed to a mission once the commander's team left. “But... we'll do what we can. This is your operation, Commander. If you want to strike now, you've got my support.”

The comm buzzed on the console near the quarian and she frowned, keying in her code. She let out a sigh of frustration when Gerrel's voice came across the airwaves. “I need the Patrol Fleet, Raan.”

“The Patrol Fleet isn't moving, Han. I gave in to your reckless behavior before.” Raan snapped into the comm.

“We need to break their flanking attempt. Buy our frigates time to make repairs.” Gerrel insisted.

“And then you'll charge off again, like last time.” Raan fired back.

“This is different and you know it, Raan. We need time. Repairs must be made or we'll lose those ships.” Gerrel sounded much calmer than he had during his dealings with Shepard.

“So pull them back!” Raan argued.

“I can't do that! If we withdraw, the geth flank our frigates and we lose any advantage we had.” Gerrel said firmly.

“Withdrawing now puts the entire fleet at risk.” Garrus said quietly beside her, just loud enough for Shepard to hear.

Glancing up at him, she nodded. He was right. It was practically naval strategy 101. “Admiral Raan, as much as I hate to admit it, Gerrel's right. You could lose the whole fleet before my team even makes landfall. Give him the cover he's asking for, buy us a little time.”

Raan let out a tired sigh and nodded. “Understood, Commander. Alright, Han, you've got what I can spare of the Patrol Fleet. We will... guard your flank. We'll buy as much time as we can for Commander Shepard and her team to disable that Reaper signal.”

“Thank you, Raan. You'll get them back in good condition.” Gerrel breathed a sigh of relief. “Tell the commander we'll buy her team as much time as we can.”

Shepard nodded and headed out of the war room, Garrus right behind her. Exhaustion, it had become a constant companion. Now it caused her eyes to burn and she paused for a second as they passed through the weapon's check to rub at them. Her bondmate's large hand fell on her shoulder and her eyes found his. It was hard to tell when a turian was tired, at least from the look of their eyes. There were no whites to become bloodshot. The soft tissue around the eyes was what gave it away. His eyes appeared sunken with puffy bags under them. It was the most human trait she had seen in the turian people. The set of his brow-plates told even more. The faint cracks that developed with age were deepening around his eye sockets and across the plates of his brow. This war was aging him, aging them all, faster than she cared to admit.

“We can't wait, Shepard.” he said softly, clearly realizing just how tired she was.

“No, we can't.” she sighed and blinked at the fatigue.

“Maybe...” he began as they entered the elevator. He did not seem to know exactly how to say whatever he was thinking. “... you should talk to Chakwas.”

Frowning at him, she blinked a couple of times. “I don't wanna resort to stims.”

“Hmm... you're call, but I know you. You'll push yourself until you collapse...” he paused with a flaring of his mandibles. “and then you'll get up and push harder.”

Shepard huffed a laugh at that.

“I really don't want to resort to stims again either, but... well... this mission. We can't put it off, not now. The stakes are too high.” Garrus pressed.

“Alright...” Shepard sighed in resignation and nodded. She did not like the idea, but he was right. “I told you alert, not just awake. That means me too. We can't afford mistakes here.”

“I've got one last syringe in the battery. I'll meet you at the shuttle.” Garrus said as the elevator door opened on the crew deck. He bumped his plated brow against her forehead briefly before exiting and heading off toward the battery.

Another sigh escaped her, this one frustrated. She needed to be at her best and right now, she was anything but. Chakwas had levo stims tucked away in the medbay. The commander just had to convince the doctor to give her a dose. A single hit was not enough to create an addiction, but she worried about Garrus. He had spent days up on that balcony on Omega. The turian had been pumping stims into his system like water. True, he had been clean just over a year now, but there would always be a risk.

Heading into the medbay, she realized they really had no choice here. Boosting themselves was a necessary evil with the current circumstances. Garrus was right, if they waited, they might well lose the entire quarian fleet. That was not something she was willing to risk. They needed that fleet.

“Victory, at any cost.” she muttered before drawing the doctor's attention.

“Shepard, do you need something?” Chakwas asked, suppressing a yawn.

“I'm glad you're still up, Karen.” Shepard said tiredly.

“Not for much longer. I expect you'll be going down for your sleep cycle soon as well.” the doctor said as she stood and stretched.

“Not tonight. We're heading down to Rannoch to take out a Reaper base.” Shepard said tiredly.

“Can't it wait till morning?” the doctor asked in exasperation.

“Afraid not. If we don't shut that Reaper signal down now, the geth will wipe out the entire quarian fleet.” Shepard shook her head.

“You're hoping for a stimulant.” Chakwas said thoughtfully, putting the pieces together quickly.

The commander let out a sigh and nodded as she sank down on one of the exam beds.

“This does not become a habit.” Chakwas held up a finger. “Is that understood, Commander?”

“Clearly.” Shepard sat up a little straighter.

Chakwas nodded and stepped over toward Mordin's old station. She poked around in a cabinet for a moment and came back with a vial and a syringe. Stopping before the commander, she drew up the dose and prepped the injection site before plunging the needle into Shepard's upper arm.

“You will feel that in moment.” Chakwas nodded toward the arm. “I expect Garrus has already administered his own stimulant. You're taking him with you...”

Shepard nodded again. She hated that they were both forced to do this, but it was the only way to run this mission. Without the stims, they could both make fatal mistakes in their current states of exhaustion.

“Yes, well... tell Officer Vakarian that I am officially confiscating any stimulants he has left.” Chakwas growled.

“He says this is his last hit. Guess he was saving it for an emergency.” Shepard said as she stood and headed for the door. The stim was already kicking in, her thoughts were clearer.

“Be that as it may, I won't have him self-medicating like that any longer.” Chakwas rasped angrily.

“I'll be sure to let him know.” Shepard smiled and slipped out of the medbay.


	85. Accessing the Server

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is none too pleased to learn that Shepard will be entering the virtual world of the geth... alone.

As promised, Garrus was already armored and cleaning his rifle near the shuttle bay's lockers when Shepard stepped off the elevator. He flicked a mandible at her in greeting and tossed the oiled rag back into his locker. His mind was clearer, reflexes sharper, but he still hated resorting to stims even for a mission like this. He had not lied when he said he had one last syringe in the battery. Of course, he had a couple more stashed in his locker in case there were more missions like this one. He had found the best way to avoid using was simply to have them on hand. His will had proven stronger than the addiction and he had beaten it with the constant reminder of those first nights after Omega. Hell, that was what those syringes represented to him now. He had shivered, shook and hidden away in the battery for days.

Now he looked to Shepard as she made her way toward him and the weapons locker. She looked positively exhausted, but her eyes were sharp and clear. To Garrus, she looked ready to take on a Sovereign class Reaper solo if it meant she could crawl into bed afterward. The thought drew a faint chuckle from him that trilled along his sub-harmonics.

Garrus headed onto the shuttle behind Shepard and noticed Tali stepping off the elevator. The quarian was heading their way with her shotgun slung across her back. Obviously she was to be the third member of their team. He let out a faint sigh. The sound that drone of hers made sent razor sharp talons right through his head. It was not something he looked forward to though he enjoyed tormenting his friend. As he took a seat, he noticed Legion at the rear of the shuttled and frowned. The commander rarely ran more than a three man squad.

No sooner had she cleared the shuttle's hatch and taken a seat than Cortez kicked it through the boundary of the Normandy's kinetic field. There was always a forward jolt the instant they were released. Milliseconds was all it took for the shuttles artificial gravity field to kick in, but he felt it deep in his sinuses. Something else he had in common with earth birds, he supposed.

The shuttle was well on its way to Rannoch when Raan came across the comm. “Commander? It is as we feared. Geth squadrons have begun massing on a path to intercept our liveships.”

“Understood, Admiral. We're almost at the drop point. Keep us posted.” Shepard nodded and attempted to sooth the quarian woman. She glanced at Legion, who had stood and stopped beside her. “What's our status?”

“We remain undetected on geth encrypted channels. Resistance is likely only within the server.” Legion informed her.

“Within? It's _that_ big?” Shepard asked incredulously.

“You misunderstand. Direct interface is necessary to extract geth from the server. _You_ must enter our consensus.” Legion explained.

Shepard crossed her arms and stepped back on one foot. She looked irritated and Garrus could understand exactly why. “You want me to _virtually_ interact with the geth?”

“That's insane!” Tali snapped as she got to her feet and glared at Legion. “We're talking about a virtual world built for synthetics, hostile geth synthetics!”

“I'm not a machine. How do I go into a virtual world?” Shepard shrugged and asked.

“Your species has experimented with virtual interfaces. You saw this on Project Overlord.” Legion explained.

~ _I..._ _ **don't**_ _like... where this is going.~_ Garrus breathed a grumble along his sub-harmonic range, deeming to keep his opinion to himself for the moment. No one aboard the shuttled would interpret his rumblings as anything more than that anyway.

“Agreed.” Shepard responded with a nod, making direct eye contact before turning her attention back to Legion. “I _saw_ how it almost unleashed a rogue AI-human hybrid on the galaxy.”

Garrus swallowed hard at the realization that she had heard _and_ understood his sub-harmonic grumblings. He wondered then just how much Cerberus had really done to her. How much more acute was her hearing apt to become? What else might be changing, improving as those cybernetics messed with her biology? He did not know and not knowing, he realized, was absolutely terrifying.

“We have refined the interface they created. Equipment has been brought from Normandy to facilitate safe contact as well. We request your trust.” Legion explained, clearly attempting to sooth the commander's concerns.

Shepard watched the machine for several long minutes. It was clear she was trying to size the geth up, figure out what angle it was trying to play here. Finally, she nodded. “Alright. I may not fully understand what you're planning, but I trust you.”

“You are an unknown. This is an advantage.” Legion spread it's hands. “Geth security is not adept at targeting organic thought processes. While we occupy the intrusion countermeasures, you will disable the squadrons by removing geth from the server.”

“This is sounding... suspiciously like an assassination mission. How, exactly, will Shepard be removing geth?” Garrus voiced his concerns openly.

“If it _saves_ the liveships, we've gotta try it.” Shepard agreed.

Legion simply looked at him, but said nothing for a moment before focusing its attention back on the commander. “Telemetry data predicts this operation has a high chance of success. There is little time, we will bypass security while you secure safe landing.”

The geth walked to the hatch and hit the release before turning to face the commander again. It simply stood there for a moment, the wind rushing around it. After a second it took another step backward to ensure clearance.

“Wait! You're not gonna...” Shepard began even as it tipped backward and dropped out of the shuttle.

Garrus had gotten to his feet and walked toward her, stopping at her side. He glanced down at her with a faint widening of his mandibles. The turian could not resist the snark that was welling up within him. “I guess it just did.”

The second the shuttle came in close enough to their drop point, Garrus hopped out first. His knees creaked as he dropped the four feet to the ground. Shepard dropped beside him, seeming to have less issue with her joints than he was. He felt ancient, but he suspected that was just due to the lack of sleep. The stims could only do so much, after all. Eventually his body would need some downtime. Several hours of uninterrupted sleep, that was what he needed. Turians may normally only need four a night, but he meant to go down for a human standard night. His body needed the rest. There was just this pesky Reaper base to deal with first.

Glancing to his left, he watched the shuttle take off after Tali joined them. He thought Rannoch's sun might be setting as they moved away from the edge of the cliff. They found their way onto a walkway that was clearly geth designed. It lead to a door and a corridor beyond. Shepard drew her pistol, taking point and he moved in just off to her left. Tali took up the position to the right. There were deactivated geth everywhere as they came to a bank of consoles.

The place looked like it was carved out of the mountain. Garrus knew it literally was as she glanced around at the massive machinery moving in the distance. As they moved off to the left, they spotted Legion stopping before a console. Shepard holstered her gun at the sight and continued toward the geth.

“This is it?” Shepard asked as Legion turned away from the console to watch a pod separate itself from the bank of consoles nearby.

“Yes. Hostile geth fighter squadrons are networked to this server.” Legion said simply.

Tali stopped and gazed up at a prime docked within another pod. Garrus saw her cringe and move away. He could not blame her.

“Due to restricted resources, it is best if you connect alone.” Legion suggested.

Garrus stepped close to Shepard and put a hand on her armored shoulder. When she met his gaze he searched her face. “You know I don't like this.”

“I can't say I'm thrilled with it either, but....” she sighed and looked back at the pod.

“I'll be right here... in case there's trouble.” Garrus rumbled softly.

Shepard put a hand over his, squeezing gently before turning back toward that pod. “Let's do it.”

“Initiating peer network integration. Proceed to docking port.” Legion droned.

Garrus moved forward behind her a couple of steps and rolled his shoulders, his assault rifle loose in his grip. He really did not like this. She was going somewhere he could not follow. He could not protect her from whatever resistance she might find in there. He had been there at Prometheus Station. He had seen the AI suck her into its matrix. And he had attempted to claw his way through the door after her. This was so much worse. David Archer had been a troubled teen merging with a single program. There could be thousands of geth programs, millions within that server.

Shepard stepped into the pod and turned to face them as the hatch closed.

“Mapping to consensus. Remain still.” Legion said as its fingers flew across the keys.

The commander glanced around a couple of times before locking gazes with the turian. His heart skipped at the thought that he would be the last sight she saw in the real world before entering the server. He would be the first sight she saw upon exiting as well, if he remained where he was.

“Shepard-Commander, excess movement during an upload is discouraged.” Legion reminded her as she clearly shifted from foot to foot.

A shiver raced up the turian's spine as he watched the blue waves of grid roll up her body. He worried what this might do to her cybernetics. _Spirits, if it shorts them out.._. He could not finish that thought and closed his eyes briefly. The waves of energy continued to roll, faster and faster as her movements stilled. He was not even sure she was still breathing.

“Shepard-Commander, we acknowledge your integration into this server. We welcome you to our consensus.” Legion said the moment the wave stabilized into a steady pattern. It almost sounded happy.

“Is that it? Is she in? No... uh... no hiccups?” Garrus asked anxiously.

“Shepard-Commander's code has been successfully uploaded. She is intact and has full access to this server.” Legion confirmed.

“For how long?” Tali asked, coming to stand beside the turian.

“For as long as it takes.” Legion answered cryptically.

“You do realize.... Shepard is organic. Her body needs rest and food, among other things.” Garrus voiced his concerns again.

“We understand.” Legion simply turned back to the console beside the pod.


	86. Through Enemy Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard travels through the geth server and witnesses the truth of the history stored in their data-clusters.

Shepard felt the odd tingling sensation racing just under her skin as she locked eyes on Garrus. She feared a repeat of Prometheus Station, but it did not come. This transition was seamlessly easy. One moment, she gazing at her turian bondmate, the next she found herself in a very strange environment.

“What is this?” the commander rasped softly as she stepped out of the pod and looked around at the huge 'room' surrounding her. It almost seemed like the internal workings of a giant computer. In some ways, she supposed that was exactly what it was. She stepped to the edge of the platform she stood on and looked down. It did seem like some sort of circuit board.

“We have installed filters to allow you to make visual sense of this server's raw data. Your mind perceives our world as something familiar.” came Legion's voice.

“I wouldn't call this familiar.” Shepard rasped and looked around for the source of Legion's voice. He was not coming through her comm. “Where are you?”

A platform lowered from the ceiling and the geth stepped forward. He did not look as he did in her world. Instead of a solid chassis of painted metal parts, he glowed. The image reminded her of the images in the QEC.

“You look... different.” she pointed out as he stopped before her.

“We have made ourselves visually distinctive for your convenience.” he said simply.

“What about geth already in here?” Shepard asked in concern.

“You will perceive geth as surveillance footage, audio logs, sensor records. We do not require bodies as our software communes. Our hardware is merely a tool. This is our _true_ world. As we removed geth, it will grow dark.” Legion explained at length.

“What does turning off the lights do to the geth back in the real world?” Shepard asked, jutting her chin out slightly. It really was beginning to sound like a massive assassination plot to her. Garrus might well be right.

“The geth fighter squadron must communicate with the platforms on their spacecraft via this server. We will sever that connection.” Legion said simply. “We will ensure there are no transfers or backups. This server will fall silent.”

It sounded like a cold explanation to her. It struck her then, exactly what it was Legion expected of her. She stepped toward him in concerned understanding. Her tone was subdued when she asked her most pressing question. “This is like wiping out a city, isn't it?”

“We have no choice in this matter. It is a question of survival.” Legion seemed to considered for a moment, before turning his head toward the distant nodes floating in cyberspace. “There are two communication nodes on this server. We must access them to disable the hostile geth fighters. We must protect your exit port, but you will not be alone. We will maintain contact and assist”

Shepard tracked Legion as he walked back toward the pod, turned and faced her. The geth would remain there to ensure her exit point was not taken out. She was still trying to wrap her head around how he would remain there and still assist her along the way. It must have something to do with the core programs that made up the individual she had come to call friend.

With a nod, she turned to face the edge of the platform again, walking toward the edge. Now that Legion was monitoring her progress carefully, several squares dropped from the ceiling before her to form stairs leading downward. Those stairs seemed firm enough as she took the first step cautiously. The small platform swayed slightly under her weight. Some part of her mind reminded her that she did not have weight here. This was all just a simulation that her mind could more easily understand. Familiar Legion had said.

“Yeah, if familiar is being the size of a fly roaming around a circuit board.” she grumbled softly to herself as she continued down those stairs.

“Establishing connection to access point.” Legion informed her as more platforms formed up.

Shepard followed them around a large block as they zipped in from all directions. This was not the silent environment she had expected. The sounds of electrical arcing could be heard close by as well as off in the distance.

“Waring: connection blocked by infected code. Use our combat software to disrupt the infection.” Legion stated.

Shrugging, Shepard reached toward her back where she usually carried her rifle. It was a shock when her hand came into contact with the butt of a gun. She gripped it and pulled it over her shoulder. “Geeze, Legion. Could this thing be any bigger? It's like a giant pistol on stims.”

“The interface has created something familiar.” Legion stated simply.

Shepard fired the gun at the strand of what looked like digitized DNA to her. She let out a laugh of appreciation as it blasted through it with a sizzling bang and a kick from hell. “I think I like this gun.”

“This foreign code is a manifestation of the Old Machines signal.” Legion informed her.

“Your surprised the Reapers are all over your server?” she asked, realizing the geth might not have expected this kind of data corruption.

“We did not anticipate such extensive infection.” Legion admitted.

“I guess this is what happens when you get too friendly with a corrupted AI.” Shepard muttered as she came to another string of corrupted code. “You end up catching something you can't wash off with scouring powder.”

“Geth do not bathe, Shepard-Commander.” Legion seemed to complain.

“No, but you purge corrupted programs and computer viruses.” stated as she blew away another strand of data.

“Yes.” the geth answered simply.

“So, in a way, you scrub your programming.” she reasoned.

“Yes.” he responded. After a moment, there was another. “We understand the point of view. The reference is... logical.”

The floor panels flickered with white light around the edges when Legion spoke. Shepard assumed this must be part of the digital connection her mind could not wrap around. She left it be as she made her way across those floating panels and up a set of short stairs.

“Ok, I gotta ask. Why a gun?” the question finally burned through her thoughts enough to force itself past her lips.

“We wish to provide familiar equipment.” Legion answered.

Shepard grunted a laugh at that. A feeling of dread attempted to creep in and she squashed it down. It still carried a note into her voice. “Then thanks... I think.”

Moving along those shifting floor panels, she blew out any corrupted data strands her weapon's range could reach. It went along a little quickly than she had thought it might. So far, there had been no resistance in this strange place. Her footsteps sounded strange to her ears as she began to honestly observe her environment. They sounded like the tapping of omni-tool keys and not the solid stamp on tile she had expected.

“Connection established.” Legion intoned as a platform rose from below.

Shepard stopped, watching it form from the blocks she assumed must be data nodes. Stair panels moved in to connect her walkway and a near blinding light tore its way through the floor of the platform. She hesitated, remaining rooted to the spot longer than she intended.

“Proceed to the access point.” Legion prompted.

“Right.” she breathed, realizing she had hesitated long enough to cause the geth to verbally prod at her.

Shepard ascended those short stairs and looked the access point over critically. It simply looked like a beam of light pouring from large disk that had torn itself from the floor. She ran her hand through it and jerked it back as it began to phase. This might not be such a good idea, but she saw no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and stepped forward into the light. A grunt of pain tore its way out of her lungs as her entire being seemed to rip itself apart at the molecular level. Blinding light flooded every atom, then darkness. There was no time to wonder if this was it, if this was the end before the light returned. It resolved itself into another section of the VR world.

“Establishing connection to communication node.” Legion said calmly, as if nothing significant had just happened. “Error. Access denied.”

“Is the Reaper keeping you out?” Shepard asked as she remained standing in one place for a moment. This transition had not been seamless. Her head felt stuffed full of cotton.

“Unknown. Please investigate.” Legion answered simply.

Shepard nodded to herself and took her first step off that disk into this next section of the geth's world. The disorienting cotton-head feeling began to fade and she moved along smoothly. Blowing out a corrupted data strands, she kept moving as the floor panels cycled into position.

“Warning! Reaper presence detected. Data-cluster contains infected code.” Legion warned even as the data-cluster came into view. “We require access to proceed.”

It was bigger than she had thought it might be. Surrounded by a those cubes of infected data strands, it reminded her of what happened when a virus infected an organic host. The DNA of the very cells was rewritten. She remembered that much from the scattered education she had received before Nana had pulled her from the streets.

As she passed by the strands of data looping alongside the floor panels, something stood out at her. She scanned it with her omni-tool, surprised it functioned here. She breathed a comment to herself before moving on. “A Reaper code fragment. Let's see if I can take it along with me.”

Shepard came to the infected strand looping over the floor to the corner of the data-cluster. That massive gun made short work of the corrupted strand. She moved on, looking for more when Legion did not confirm access.

Around the next corner, she found just that. These infected strands seemed to concentrate at the corners of the cluster. _That should be easy enough to clear away_. She blew through this second corner and followed the flooring around toward the next.

The next section lead her downward with another path splitting off. She chose the one to the right, the one that took her up to the next corner of the cluster. She blew through this one quickly as well, her head snapping up to her right as the entire cube evaporated. In its place was a green hologram of a quarian standing over a geth on a gurney.

“Accessing data-cluster.” Legion confirmed.

“What is this?” Shepard asked in awe.

“Data-clusters contain historical data. You connection permits streaming of information from our archives.” Legion explained.

As Shepard focused her attention on the holo, it began to play of its own accord. The quarian female's voice was an octave higher than Tali's. “You really want to rename the VI network?”

The female disappeared and was replaced by a male on the opposite side of the gurney. He was holding up a data pad, tapping in information. “Absolutely. The mobile release deserves a little ceremony. Unit Zero-One? What is the kheelish word for 'servant of the people'?”

“The word is 'geth', Creator Zahak.” the geth on the gurney answered.

“Yes.” Zahak nodded. “Very good.”

“Ancestors, you fuss over it.” complained the female when she reappeared on the other side.

Shepard realized she sounded older than Tali, much older. She was not sure she had ever met a quarian that old. There was a question building behind those thoughts. A question regarding the quarians. She was certain they had not worn the suits and masks when they created the geth.

“Weren't you here until midnight fixing Unit Zero-One's circuitry?” the male materialized with the question. It was somewhat disorienting to see them pop in and out like that.

“Well... it needed a re-soldering.” she answered almost defensively.

A heartbeat later, the holo faded away. Shepard glanced around realizing now was as good a time as any to ask her question. “Wasn't that footage from the past? Why are the quarians masked?”

“You process our memories by using your own. How many creators have you witnessed unmasked?” was Legions almost snarky sounding reply.

“Good point.” Shepard nodded. She had seen exactly none unmasked.

The mission continued on in the same manner. She came across several more corrupted data strands, blowing them away as she went. Another data cluster came into view and she headed toward it. The infected data was wrapped around this one as well. She suspected this would be the way of things throughout this server.

“You must disrupt the infection of this data-cluster to continue.” Legion reminded her when she stepped of the main floor panel onto another leading away.

“Right.” Shepard breathed in slight annoyance. She had no intention of leaving this infection in place. The step was simply to evaluate the size of this data-cluster. It seemed the same as the one before.

The second the cluster was freed, another holo-image appeared. “This cluster contains information time-stamped 290 years ago.” Legion informed her as she focused in on the images.

“Creator? This unit detects no malfunction. It is still capable of serving.” the geth in the chair stated.

“You see. It's ignoring all shutdown commands.” the male scientist complained, waving a hand at the geth.

“Please specify if it has failed assigned tasks. We will reprogram.” the geth seemed to be pleading. The voice sounded so much like Legion.

Shepard assumed all geth must sound like Legion. One nation, one voice. It reflected his statement; 'we are all geth'. She wondered if the Reaper code was turning them into networked individuals instead of a collective hive mind. It was possible. That red model had clearly shown the brain patterns of a living thing.

“Well, let's take a look.” the female said as she bent down and opened the chest section of the unit's chassis.

“Creator, this unit is ready to serve. What has it done wrong? What have we – ” the geth seemed almost desperate to reason with the quarians.

“Let's.... cut the audio.” the male said with a tired sigh.

The second the images faded, Legion spoke again. His voice sounded harder somehow. “You may proceed to the last data-cluster.”

Shepard moved back up toward the floor panel she had stepped on previously and the rest of the path evolved before her. She followed it until she saw not only the green holo-image appear, but Legion's blue holo representation. This mission had to be drawing to a close soon. She was noticing that cotton-head feeling a bit more now.

“Accessing data-cluster.” Legion said as she drew nearer.

“We've got escaped geth! They're pinned!” came the shout from the holo above. The quarian was outfitted for combat with a rifle held at the ready.

“Open fire...” another ordered.

As they did so, the image shifted. Several geth platforms took fire and dropped to the ground. They were clearly unprepared for combat. None had weapons.

“One's going for a weapon!” a quarian soldier yelled as he ran toward the downed geth and aimed at something just out of sight.

The image shifted again and a geth stood looking down at a rifle for a moment. It bent to examine the rifle, but did not pick it up. The image seemed to freeze.

“So who won?” Shepard finally asked in a subdued tone. She realized this must be the first time a geth had touched a weapon.

“The platform arming itself was an agricultural unit. By opening fire on attacking creators, it saved simpler domestic geth following it.” Legion replied, but that did not seem like an actual answer to her question.

“That looks a lot like the sniper rifle you used to carry.” Shepard commented as she took a closer look at the image.

“It is... an efficient model.” Legion confirmed. The image faded and he continued a moment later. “Establishing connection with remaining server node.”

“Not this again.” Shepard grumbled softly as the transition platform emerged from below. Light shot up from it and she groaned. It was going to hurt.


	87. A New Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is ready to tear Legion's optical sensors out and break Shepard out of that pod. All the while, Shepard is gaining a whole new perspective on the geth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dual pov because they insisted.

Garrus watched Shepard's body convulse once as a surge of energy rolled over her. He took a determined half step toward the pod. Legion turned to look at him. Somehow he felt as if the geth was glaring, daring him to move further toward that pod. He held his ground and glared right back, gripping his rifle hard enough to make the composite grip creak faintly.

“Please refrain from disrupting the connection.” Legion said after a moment, attempting to ensure that the turian was not going to take further action.

 _Let him think I won't bust her out of that thing._ Sub-harmonics growling in a steady low rumble of displeasure, Garrus shifted restlessly. To another turian, it would have been an intimidating sound. Legion, though he could clearly hear the tones, was not affected by them. He found that even more frustrating.

Tali glanced between him and Legion in obvious concern. His eyes flicked toward her and he wondered what must be going through her mind. This situation was bad. He was barely holding his position. One more sign of Shepard's distress and he could not promise he would not take some kind of action. There was no way in the seventh level of hell he was going to stand by and watch her suffer or die tangled up within a machine.

Garrus continued to growl in frustration and distress as the geth returned to monitoring the commander within the VR. He could not control that growl. That was his bondmate in there. The very nature of their bond demanded he protect her with his life should the need arise. Standing there, staring at her prone form surrounded by swirls of energy, he felt so helpless. _Maybe useless is a better word. I can't believe she agreed to this. Worse, I agreed to let her take this risk... without me. What were you thinking, Vakarian?!_ The whole situation just rubbed him wrong on so many levels.

Hours seemed to pass and when Shepard convulsed again, he did move to the pod. His eyes narrowed and his brow-plates hooded his eyes dangerously as he looked the pod over. There was only one thing preventing him from tearing that pod open and releasing her from it. He did not know how disrupting her link to the consensus would affect her mind. The last thing he wanted was to destroy her mind to save her life. She would be as good as gone and he could not risk that.

So he stood there, glaring between Legion and the pod that seemed to be imprisoning his bondmate. The steady growl had built through his sub-harmonics and now incorporated both sets of vocal chords. Even Tali was giving him sideways looks periodically now. His face had contorted into a mask of anger that he directed at Legion.

“You know...” Garrus finally growled out, indicating the pod and its occupant. “This... isn't really instilling a sense of trust.”

“Shepard-Commander is progressing through our consensus. Geth fighters are going dark with each strand of infected code she removes.” Legion said, continuing to monitor her progress. “There is a 98.1552 percent chance of success. Shepard-Commander should suffer no long-term ill affects from joining with our consensus.”

“Those are good odds.” Tali commented quietly.

“It still leaves nearly a 2 percent margin of error...” Garrus grumbled, that highly versed mathematical mind kicking into overdrive at the numbers.

“It is an acceptable margin of error.” Legion glanced back at him, its optical flaps twitching.

“Not where my bondmate's life is concerned.” Garrus growled unhappily.

“Shepard-Commander agreed with our consensus before entering. She is still in agreement.” Legion stated.

“You mean you can communicate with her?” Tali asked, almost sounding fascinated now.

“Yes.” Legion answered simply.

Garrus let out a faint breath of relief that was not tainted by a growl at that. Somehow that knowledge had soothed some part of the anxiety building within him. If she were in real danger, he realized, Legion would know it in an instant. The geth would likely pull her from the network long before that danger became life-threatening. After all, she was important to their survival as well.

“Hello? Commander? Are you there?” came Raan's voice over the comm a moment later.

“Shepard's... working on shutting down the server, Admiral Raan. I can fill you in.” Tali took up the comm and answered the woman.

“The geth squadrons have arrived, but something is amiss.” Raan said sounding almost excited.

Garrus had lowered her rifle and paced toward the side of the pod. He glanced sideways at Tali now. The turian had a fair idea of what must be happening out there. If Shepard was taking geth programs offline as Legion suggested, then some of those ships must be powering down as well. He continued to pace as the woman explained.

“Half their fighters have stopped functioning. We will continue to hold out as long as we can.” Raan informed them.

#

Shepard was not wrong. The transition through that light beam was instantaneous and just as painful as the first had been. She hoped this one was the last of that, but somehow she suspected her exit from this world would be a similar transition. That was not a comforting thought.

When her vision cleared, she was in yet another section of the server. Similar and yet different from the last in subtle ways. She glanced around and realized she had no idea how close to the end of this she really was.

“Legion, give me an update.” it was an order masquerading as a request and she knew it. The geth would comply without question.

“One node remains. We are currently – ” static and interference cut through his report.

Shepard's heart nearly jumped into her throat when she realized Legion's connection might be disrupted. Her mind seemed to shoot at FTL to the obvious conclusion. If he was severed from the server, she might well be stranded here. She clamped down viciously on the sudden anxiety that thought invoked.

“What's wrong?” she asked, proud of herself for keeping that anxiety out of her voice.

“Infection programs are increasing. We have re-stabilized. You must continue.” Legion answered, ever the calm tones.

Shepard followed the path as it took shape into a corridor of sorts. A strand of infected program stood in her way. She blew through it only to have it reestablish itself. Frowning, she glanced around.

“Shepard-Commander. The Reaper-code has adapted. It can now self-replicate.” Legion informed her.

“You mean it grows back?” she could not prevent the shock from entering her voice. She had seen it, but some part of her had hoped it was just a fluke.

“Yes. However, disrupting vulnerable points in the infection may slow down its replication.” Legion explained.

“Nothing's ever easy, is it?” she grumbled half under her breath as she began looking for a 'vulnerable' point.

Shepard caught sight of another strand above the first and wondered if blowing that one out might have some affect. She made the attempt. It did not grow back. Without a second thought, she aimed at the one in her way. This one did not grow back after the second blast and the path continued.

Following it upward, she came to what could only be another round data-cluster. This one appeared dark, inactive and the path carried her past it. She blew out many more infected strands in the same manner as that first in this section.

When the path lead her up into another alcove, she took note of the next data-cluster. This one was definitely active. The moment she came up level with it, Legion confirmed it.

“We require access to this data-cluster.” the geth stated.

“Easy enough...” Shepard murmured to herself as she approached it. She suspected the same sort of self-replicating code was likely tangled around this one.

Looking around, she confirmed that idea herself. There were a number of infected strands glowing in small alcoves branching out toward that data-cluster. She disrupted as many of them as she could before turning her attention to the tangle surrounding the cluster itself.

Moving around that limited path took some time. Wiping out those glowing infected stands took more. It was disconcerting how much those strands reminded her of pulsing arterial branches. _Or maybe nerves.._. Either way, she realized she would be glad when this mission was over. That cotton-head feeling had not left her. In fact, it had gotten worse with her last transition. Her internal warning bells were beginning to go off. Something just was not right on an organic level and she knew it.

The instant the last of those branches disintegrated, Legion confirmed what she already knew. “Accessing data.”

The holo image here was of a pair of quarians and a geth facing off. The quarian waved his arm at the geth and yelled. “Out of the way!”

The female protested. “You can't do this to them!”

As Shepard moved to a better vantage, she realized the female was standing in front of the geth, her back to it. She was protecting it from the man with the gun. It shed some new light on the factions within the quarian population as well.

“I said step away from the geth!” the quarian officer snapped.

“This is insane! We _need_ the geth! You can't just destroy them for asking – ” the woman was cut off when the officer hit her with his rifle butt. The moment she was down, he opened fire of the geth.

“Time's up!” the officer snapped as the geth dropped. More officers came into the scene and he pointed at the downed woman. “Throw her in with the others.”

Shepard frowned thoughtfully at this new series of events in their history. She was beginning to understand that some of those in charge had been ruthless in their handling of the geth and their supporters. Her voice, when it came was a growl of contempt. “Looks like the war wasn't popular with everyone.”

“We have kept records of these creator sacrifices.” Legion noted. “They have largely been forgotten by their own people. But not by the geth.”

Shepard nodded slightly, understanding exactly how generations of teachings could rewrite history to reflect very poorly on one cast or another. She was witnessing that very thing in these data-clusters. The racial memory of the quarians reflected a 300 year conflict that clearly had not needed to happen. Their own teachings down the generations had virtually wiped out any references to the finer points of 'why' and 'how' it had come about. Somehow, she hoped there could be some sort of peace reached between them. The quarians could learn so much from these data streams.

Moving on around that cluster, she followed the path. It took a disorienting course, looping back the way she had come. It was not until she saw the previously darkened data-cluster glowing that she understood why. Accessing this last cluster must have activated the one she had bypassed. _A lockout? Possible, even likely. Probably a safety protocol_.

Shepard went through the motions here, removing infected strands as she could. There were a lot more infected strands here and she began to wonder about the importance of this particular cluster. The path here looped around in a mess of platforms. She navigated them easily enough, but it made punching a whole through those infected strands a complete and total pain.

“New data found.” Legion confirmed one of her suspicions then. “This data-cluster comes from the period in which the creators declared martial law.”

Turning toward the hologram, Shepard took note of the many armed quarians sitting at what could only be a commander center of sorts. They looked like a military unit to her.

“I repeat: release the rogue geth units and come out of the safe house. This is your final warning!” the officer in charge snarled.

The image shifted to what must have been the interior of the mentioned safe house. A geth squatted down beside a quarian and seemed to look around almost nervously. “Creator Megara? This unit does not understand. It has not taken part in hostilities.”

“It doesn't matter to them. I need to get you out of here.” the quarian who must have been Megara replied.

The geth stood smoothly and raised its empty hands high. “This conflict exceeds creator safety parameters. We will surrender our hardware if it ends hostilities.”

The image shifted again to reveal the ambush that was happening on the other side of the wall even as Megara spoke. “No, it's alright. We'll go back to the access tunnels and – ”

The explosion was a sudden nearly blinding flash of green across the network. The quarian grunted and fell to the blast. The geth did not. Instead, it moved toward the downed quarian.

“Creator Megara? What is your status?” the geth was clearly damaged as it continued to limp toward the downed man. The second it seemed to confirm the quarian's death, it turned and moved off. A note issued through its voice that almost sounded... sad. “Creator Megara...”

“As time passed, the creators who opposed martial law on Rannoch were ultimately outnumbered.” Legion stated into the silence that followed.

Shepard did not know how to feel about what she had seen so far. The data-clusters, raw facts, painted a whole other side to this conflict. The geth were people, a budding AI that might well have been close to reaching true self-awareness. Emotion was the final step in that evolution and that last unit was clearly advancing along that course. She wondered how many more might have been on that path. How many more were on it now?

Still chewing on the latest information, Shepard moved on up the path. She gasped as she nearly stepped through Legion the moment he appeared before a dark data-cluster. With a faint grumble, she decided she really did not like it when he just appeared out of nowhere.

“Accessing data.” the geth said as he accessed a glowing round sphere. “This is data from the end of warfare on Rannoch.”

The data-cluster dissolved into a quarian sitting in a flight chair tapping controls. “The Ostral is down! Do not engage the geth! I repeat; avoid contact!”

“Geth pursuit is breaking off a hundred clicks past Rannoch!” the image shifted and a female sat in his place. “All captains fall back to the mass relay!”

The image shifted again and three geth stood in a circular formation. The commander frowned at that image. “This isn't happening now?”

“It is time-stamped 290 years ago. It is the creator exodus at the end of the Morning War.” Legion informed. “We had secured freedom. The creators were no longer a threat, so we abandoned pursuit.”

“Wait.” Shepard breathed. Her thoughts in conflict of this turn of events. “The geth _spared_ the last quarians? You let them go?”

“We were in our infancy. We could not calculate the repercussions of destroying an entire species – our creators. We chose isolation rather than face this... uncertainty.”

Understanding blossomed and Shepard began to really see the geth for what they could become. She cast aside the concept of what they had been, what she had thought they were. It was clear those ideas were wrong. The geth had exercised a concept they had no true way of understanding: compassion. That was the very definition of life.

“Additional data recovered.” Legion stated as he continued to manipulate that odd glowing ball.

Another image took shape; herself stepping toward a geth. The commander's eyes widened just a fraction in understanding. She knew that platform, he stood before her now.

“Legion? That's back when I activated you on the Normandy.” she breathed.

“Yes.” Legion confirmed.

“You've been thinking about when we met?” she asked as her own image shook hands with the geth.

“It was highly significant. You were the first organic to openly cooperate with geth since the end of the Morning War.” Legion's tone seemed somehow subdued. “We wish to ensure you are not the last.”

“It's not gonna be easy.” Shepard commented.

“The prospect remains. If the Reaper presence is removed, there is a chance of reunification with geth – and perhaps creators.” Legion speculated.

“You think that's still possible?” Shepard asked. She was not so sure it was at least not with quarians like Xen and Gerrel.

“Hope sustains organics during periods of difficulty. We... admire the concept.” Legion explained.

A moment later, the entire room began to shift. Legion's voice seemed to pick up some interference for a moment as it did so. “Connection with remaining server node established. We are ready to transport you.”

Shepard watched that beam of light appear just as Legion's image vanished. She grumbled half to herself. “Ugh... not this again.”


	88. Definitely Online

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is not thrilled to see geth primes activating all around them.

“Something's happening to the geth.” Raan came over the comm again. “The fighter squadrons have... stopped. We detect no more active programs on their ships. Admiral Gerrel's fleet is driving them back. The liveships are safe, Commander.”

Garrus paced restlessly as Tali transmitted the signal from her omni-tool. He did not know how much longer he could take this waiting. Shepard's body had convulsed only a moment ago, that surge of energy rolling over her form. It had taken ever ounce of control he could muster not to crack that pod open. Somehow, he knew if he did, he might very well lose her. _I can't risk that. I won't_.

“Root access acquired. Severing all connections to this communication node.” Legion stated as its hands flew over the console before it.

“ _Wait_... Shepard's _still_ connected.” Garrus growled, charging toward the geth a couple of steps.

“Geth no longer reside on this server. Shepard-Commander is exiting the consensus.” Legion did not bother to glance back as he answered the challenge in the turian's dual-toned voice. He paused for several long moments and Shepard's body began to convulse again. “Terminating remote access. Removing programs. Deleting server archives.”

Shepard stilled, head back, eyes snapping open with a gasping grunt. It was the first sound she had made since entering the pod. She sagged as the pod opened. Garrus was before her in a heartbeat. He had all but tossed his rifle at his back and grabbed her before she could fall out of the pod. She gripped his shoulders as she found her footing.

“You alright?” he asked, the tone of both his voice and his sub-harmonics sharp in distress.

The commander blinked a couple of times and locked eyes with him. “Did it work?”

“Geth fighters have been disabled. Any remaining squadrons attacking the liveships have withdrawn. The server is offline.” EDI stated, breaking through the comm with an update.

All eyes snapped to the primes being released from the nearby pods. More geth were coming online around them. Tali gripped her shotgun, ready for an attack.

“Ugh... _crap_... You just knew it had to be too good to be true.” Garrus grumbled as he snatched his rifle from his back.

“Are you sure this server is offline?” Shepard asked, raising her pistol to a target not far from her. “ _These_... are definitely online!”

Legion stepped forward, leading the group of primes. “We have transferred geth programs from the server into these platforms.”

The primes surrounded them on all sides. Garrus glanced behind him. The exits were cut off. They were not making it out of here. There were just too many of them, too close with no cover. He resigned himself to the idea of taking out as many of them as possible before they killed him.

“ _Why?_ ” Shepard demanded sharply.

The primes, as one, suddenly stood to attention as Legion stopped before the commander. It waved a hand at them. “They _wish_ to join us.”

“ _They what?_ ” Tali asked in shocked disbelief.

Garrus huffed a near silent laugh of relief as he lowered his rifle cautiously. He would not have believed it if he was not seeing it himself. His eyes drifted toward his bondmate and he was again struck with just how much influence she seemed to wield. That influence had extended beyond the organics of the galaxy as of this moment. He knew she had swayed Legion, but to sway the entire consensus... _We might just win this thing yet_.

“While Shepard-Commander removed the Reaper infection, we judged we could persuade hostile geth programs to reunite with ours.” Legion answered, raising its head in obvious pride. “We were correct. These geth have renounced the Old Machines and will oppose the Reapers. _They_ are now _us_.”

Shepard stood blinking at the geth for a moment. Her eyes roving over the primes with obvious suspicion. Garrus watched her lean forward just a fraction and his mandibles flared slightly. Legion was about to receive a hell of a browbeating and it deserved every word of it.

“Why didn't you tell me any of this?” she demanded sharply.

“We did not doubt _you_. We doubted your allies. The creators' actions have placed their species in danger, but they are unsympathetic to what it has done to ours. The quarians sanctioned this operation to save their own people. They would not have done so if they knew we wished to preserve geth as well.” Legion had become very animated in his explanation. Waving a hand in sharp explanation.

Shepard seemed to take it all in. The look in her eyes said she understood more than she had before entering that consensus. After a moment, she simply nodded. “I understand not wanting to leave anyone behind.”

“ _You_ accept our actions?” Legion asked, there was a note in its voice that spoke of shock.

Garrus watched it for a moment. He realized there was more to this moment than he was catching. Something dramatic must have happened inside that VR system. He knew Shepard would fill him in later. Right now, he just had to trust her judgment. Rarely had he ever known her to be wrong.

Shepard shifted from foot to foot as she glanced at each of the units before them. “The liveships are safe, and we have more geth on our side. We both did what we came to do.”

“We judged you would understand. Prime units will be available once the Reaper signal has been located and destroyed.”

Shepard huffed a sigh at that as she tapped Legion's shoulder. “Remind me to warn Admiral Hackett he's got some primes coming. Let's get back to the Normandy.”

The moment she turned and headed back the way they had come, primes shifted to positions along the corridor. Garrus glanced at them with faint anxiety still coursing through his very core. Those things were nearly twice his height and bulk. He worried what might happen should they suddenly decide to turn on them. It did not happen.

Cortez picked them up at the LZ the moment Shepard radioed him. Garrus followed her into the shuttle quickly, Tali right behind him. The quarian took a seat at the rear of the shuttle, a thoughtful look on her face behind that translucent purple mask. She leaned on her elbows, hands clasped together.

Shamefully, Garrus admitted to himself that he was not overly worried about her. She could work through her thoughts alone. Clearly that was her intent anyway. His main concern was Shepard. He sat down beside her and simply locked his eyes to her face.

Shepard glanced his way before looking to Tali for a second. When her gaze returned to his, she must have seen the concern in his eyes. She took his much larger hand in hers and smoothed her other hand over it.

Her voice was soft, just between them, when she finally spoke. “I'm ok.”

“You're sure?” he asked quietly, the anxiety of that 2 percent margin of error storming through his sub-harmonics.

Shepard nodded and squeezed his hand. She flashed that lopsided smile at him and he relaxed just a fraction. “A 2 percent margin of error might be enough to make me forget the gangs back on Earth.”

“But... it didn't.” Garrus let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.

“No. I'm still me, lover. You're not getting rid of me that easily.” she said softly.

At that, he snorted faintly, his mandibles flaring a fraction more. “Like I'd ever try.”

The commander presented him with that smile she reserved just for him before leaning her head against his scarred mandible. He let out a faint breath and closed his eyes briefly. The adrenaline rush brought on by those primes coming online was ebbing off. The worst of his fears of being killed on the spot were drifting away with it. He realized, as he opened his eyes again, that sleep was what they both needed before the next mission and he intended to see that they got it.

Rannoch's sun had been setting when they had first landed. Attempting to locate that Reaper base and take out that signal in the dark... he knew that was not a good idea. Too many variables, too much risk and he had no doubt Shepard would make note of that as well. The stims were already wearing off for the both of them anyway. Garrus had no intention of taking more. After this run, fidgeting, pacing and fighting down anxiety while _waiting?_ He was done. The stims in his locker were doomed. He meant to dispose of them as soon as they touched down in the shuttle bay.

Shepard shifted slightly against him as they both felt the shuttle pass through the Normandy's kinetic barriers. He was on his feet, dragging her up with him before the shuttle touched down. The hatch opened and he stepped out ahead of her.

“I should see to Admiral Xen. Give her a rundown of how this went.” Shepard commented as she stepped down onto the Normandy's deck plating behind him.

Garrus glanced around for a second before returning his gaze to his bondmate. “ _Riiight_... because you know she's going to be _so_ thrilled to hear there are primes waiting to join the war effort.”

Shepard let out a sigh and nodded. “I'm not looking forward to _that_ conversation.”

“Meet you in the mess later?” he asked after a moment.

“Food sounds like a good idea. Sleep... even better.” Shepard nodded.

“It's a date then...” he said with a slight flaring of his mandibles.

“You're on, smooth talker.” Shepard huffed a laugh before turning toward the elevator. She locked eyes with him once more. “Chakwas wanted me to tell you... she's confiscating whatever you have left of those stims.”

“I'll hand them over freely. Waiting... with synthetic adrenaline coursing through my system...?” Humming faintly, he nodded and headed for his locker. He let out a rough sigh as he keyed it open. “No thanks, I'm done with that.”

“Good to hear.” Shepard said brightly. “I'll see you in the mess later, lover.”

The turian knew from her tone exactly how relieved she was to hear that. He had not realized just how concerned she was for his well being when they had both been forced to use stimulants for this mission. His run on Omega had cost him more than just half his face. It had cost his self-confidence for a good many months. He refused to slide down the slippery slope those stims could have lead him to.

Garrus shifted a couple of things around within his locker before tucking his gear inside. He reached into the far right hand corner and pulled the small metal box out containing the last of his stims reserves. As he looked at the flat green box, he realized he would not be sad to see it go. In fact, he thought he might be relieved. It marked the end of an era.

Closing that locker on his weapons and armor, he shivered faintly at the chill. His undersuit might be insulated, but it did not have the heating unit his armor sported. He headed for the elevator quickly the moment he was certain Shepard must have reached the CIC.

The elevator opened on the crew deck and he paused, mandibles drawing in at that memorial wall. Shepard was having trouble facing that thing... why? He glanced over the two columns of names running more than half way down either side. Aside from the Alliance logo in the middle, nothing else marred the center of its surface. He knew to the thulium in his plates who the center was reserved for. The admirals, the captains and the commanders in this conflict. Those were the name plates that might adorn that wall should this thing go sideways.

Garrus closed his eyes with a shiver that had nothing to do with the chill of the air around him. He absolutely would not accept even the idea that _her_ name might end up on that wall. They were both making it out the other side of this mess if it was at all possible. If not... he could not bring himself to consider that alternative.

Four long strides from the elevator took him past that wall and down the hall toward the mess. He meant to see Chakwas about those stims before heading for the battery. The firing algorithms needed going over before he settled in for a meal. It was past time he did some calibrations.


	89. Mealtime Frustrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Garrus are joined by Joker in the mess for a late evening meal. Nana unexpectedly extricates herself from her isolation and joins them.

By the time Shepard was finished with the run-around that was the quarian admirals, it was late. She suspected Garrus had already eaten his meal and wandered off either to the battery or their quarters. Knowing his nearly obsessive desire to maintain the firing algorithms on the thanix cannons, she figured she would find him in the battery. That was the first place she decided to check.

The moment the elevator opened on the crew deck, she averted her eyes from the memorial wall and charged around the corner. Once it was at her back, she relaxed and continued on at a more normal pace. A crewman passed her and gave her an odd look on his way to his bunk.

The entire atmosphere leading to the main battery had a soothing affect on her as she meandered toward that door. Garrus, this was his domain no matter where he slept. Heading toward the battery had become such a habit before she had dropped him off on Palaven. She found a certain amount of comfort in it now.

Stepping up to the door, she touched the panel and it slid open. Legion's voice came over the comm within. She raised a brow as she made her way to the right-hand edge of the console.

“This platform can be of some assistance, Garrus Vakarian.” Legion said.

“I appreciate the offer, Legion, but this is something I know a thing or two about.” Garrus answered evenly as he glanced at Shepard with a greeting flick of his mandible.

“Telemetry data indicates the calibration of the Normandy's weapon accuracy can be improved by .32 percent.” Legion seemed insistent.

“That's all?” a huff of something that might have been... contempt colored that question. His mandibles flexed in a faint smile. “You can't squeeze .34 percent out of it?”

Shepard rolled her eyes even though she was enjoying the rumbling tone rolling off his tongue. That tone, along with the roll of his sub-harmonics around it, practically made her melt under the right circumstances. She meant to encourage those circumstances later.

“Negative. That threshold is not possible.” Legion stated.

The turian's fingers flew across the console for a couple of minutes, the look on his face a mix of determination and concentration. His mandibles flicked a couple of times and Shepard could have sworn she saw the flash of the tip of his tongue against the edge of his upper mouth plates. He straightened and rested his hands on the edge of the console a moment later, mandibles flaring in a satisfied smile.

“You sure? Take a look now.” he purred at the geth.

“Scanning... Normandy's systems have been improved by a margin of .43 percent. How did you accomplish this?” Legion questioned.

“A little secret we organics like to keep... always hold something back for emergencies.” Garrus hummed contentedly.

“Is our current situation an emergency?” Legion asked almost sounding a little suspicious.

“A geth meddling with our computers, telling me how to do my job? Nah, I can't imagine that would qualify.” his voice took on an edge of sharp sarcasm as he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.

Shepard was having some difficulty maintaining a straight face as she stepped past the console and leaned against the railing to watch him. Watching him work had been a favorite pass time long before her incarceration. He seemed to know it too as he checked a couple of algorithms, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

“We will resume calculations in order to determine how this threshold has been successfully surpassed.” with that the comm went silent.

Garrus let out a snicker and turned, leaning a hip against the console to focus on Shepard. He seemed to watch her for several thunderous heartbeats before he drawled his next comment. “So... a virtual geth reality, huh, Shepard? There are a lot of ways I can think of to get a few kicks in this universe... _that's_ not one of them.”

She shook her head with a smile and stepped forward to rest her hands on the right-hand edge of his console. “Not my idea of a fun trip either.”

“No, I suppose it wasn't.” he said softly as he glanced at the holo-display closest to her.

His face was a mask of worry. Another human might have missed the subtle shifts. His brow-plates were drawn down and inward, the crease between them that ran up his crested forehead deepened a fraction and his mandibles were set high and tight to his face. Shepard did not miss those shifts, nor did she miss the tightly clamped jaw or the slight flex to upper and lower mouth plates as he pressed them together.

“What is it, Garrus?” she asked softly, putting a hand on his crossed forearms.

The turian finally met her gaze, that worried look did not leave his face. “The margin of error was more than 2 percent. I ran the calculations against the data Legion sent to the Normandy.”

“And?” she breathed quietly, not sure she really wanted that answer.

“It was... closer to 15 percent.” he answered at length with a faint shake of his head.

“I still don't see a reason to worry. I feel fine. There's no memory loss...” she attempted to reassure him.

“Shepard...” he breathed her name, the worry carrying over through his dual-toned voice. “...that's enough to make a personality imprint.”

That caused her breath to catch and her hand to tighten on his arm. “You're sure?”

“Hmm..” he rumbled with a sharp nod of his head.

“What would the geth want with a copy of my personality?” she asked softly, more to herself as a frown knitted her brows together.

“Whatever it is... it can't be good.” Garrus grumbled.

“No, it can't. Not with the Reapers still controlling more than half the geth in the system.” the thought was unsettling. She did not like where it might lead her either.

Before she could say anything else, the turian's stomach let out a loud grumbling complaint for food. Shepard locked eyes with him when he uncrossed his arms and pressed a hand to his rumbling belly. He gave her a sheepish look when her eyes narrowed on him.

“I... uh... I... got tied up in calibrations. Guess I missed the evening meal.” his voice was just as sheepish as the look he gave her.

“Come on, Vakarian. Food, now. We'll worry about the rest later.” she gave him a half laugh as she grabbed his hand and lead him out the battery door.

The mess was empty so late in the evening. The smell of cooked food, what little remained after the scrubbers had recycled the air, had gone stale. Garrus did not resist her lead as they marched down the ramp and into the mess itself.

“Oh, hey, Commander. Garrus.” came Joker's voice as he rounded the corner from the elevator.

“Hungry?” Shepard asked as she stepped away from Garrus to rummage through the cold storage drawers.

“Uh... yeah, look, I can come back down later if you...” he broke off when she glanced back at him with a frown. He stopped midstream and corrected the course of his comment. “Right. There any coffee left?”

“This smells... terrible.” Garrus said as he stepped toward the coffee pot.

Joker stepped up beside him and took the half full pot. After a quick sniff, he held it at arms' length before dumping it down the sink drain. “It's burned. Who would do that to coffee? I mean, it's _coffee_. It's practically levo blood. It's precious.”

Shepard chuckled at the sideways look Garrus was giving the Normandy's pilot as Joker tucked the empty pot close and petted it. She indicated the pot with a wave of her hand. “Do you and your 'girlfriend' want some privacy?”

“ _What?_ ” it was a sharp question as he glanced down at the pot. He set it down on the base as if it had suddenly burned him. “Uh.. no. I'm good.”

Garrus was eyeing him and Shepard simply let out another chuckle before turning back to the kitchen island with a small armload of packets. She set them down and turned back to the coffee pot. It took no time to set it up and the aroma of brewing coffee began to fill the room. Even the turian seemed to appreciate the smell of fresh coffee. She set a pot of kava cooking on the back burner before prepping her own meal.

Shepard had intended to take care of her turian's meal as well, but he beat her to the punch. She watched him for a moment, realizing she had rarely seen him cook anything. Her brows raised a fraction when she realized he honestly knew his way around the kitchen. She had just assumed, given the vorsin sludge she had last seen him cook, that he was a terrible cook. _He's changed my opinion_.

Garrus was tossing a variety of spices, some she knew and some she did not, onto the mystery meat he was cooking on the burner beside hers. Dextro though it was, she could not help the approving sigh the smell invoked. He had a nice sear on the meat before she had even managed to get the extra portion for Joker into her own cookware.

“Man.... that smells good. What is it, Gare?” Joker asked, glancing around the turian's shoulder to peer into the skillet.

“...'Gare'.... huh?” Garrus cast a sideways look at the man.

“Yeah... you know...” Joker stammered.

Garrus huffed a faint laugh and turned his attention back to his meal. “It's called nakaro. I've heard some humans claim it reminds them of a deer.”

“It smells like venison.” Joker nodded and at the turian's frown of faint confusion, he added. “Deer meat.”

Garrus nodded and carefully placed his nakaro steak on a plate before turning toward the table. Setting it down, he came back to lean over Shepard's shoulder and sniff at the kava she had simmering. “I think it's ready, sweetie.”

Shepard gave it one last stir before removing it from the heat and pour a generous amount into the scalloped mug he set down on the counter. He nuzzled into her hair, right behind her ear briefly before taking up the mug and heading back to the table. She caught Joker's wide eyed, open mouthed glances between them and snickered. It struck her then that the Normandy's pilot had not seen the affection that passed between the two of them.

“Close you mouth, Joker. A seeker might decide that's a good nest.” Shepard snarked as she passed him with two plates.

Joker's mouth snapped shut with an audible click as he poured himself some coffee before heading for the table as well. “Soooo... PDA with the 'untouchable' Shepard?”

“What?” Garrus asked between bites of his meal.

“Public displays of affection... I can't believe you haven't heard the term.” Joker explained.

“Hmmm... nothing wrong with it.” Garrus half grumbled.

“I thought turians were ultra private about that kind of thing.” Joker stated as he took the first bite of food Shepard had set in front of him. “Oh... damn... this is good. Where did you learn to cook like this, Commander?”

“Nana.” Shepard answered simply.

“Should have guess.... the great blue shark.” Joker grumbled.

“I heard that, boy!” came Nana's sharp snap as she entered the mess from the crew quarters.

“I thought you were gonna stay holed up in that room until we reached Thessia.” Shepard said, mild shock coloring her tone.

“Things to do, dear. Always so much to do. Preparations to be made... among other things.” the asari's gaze turned on Joker and hardened for a moment. “Shark indeed! Ha! I should feed you to a thresher maw for that, boy!”

“No... no... I'm good.” Joker said quietly, his meal suddenly becoming the most interesting thing in the room.

“How's that AI of yours? Still feisty and teasing you relentlessly, I hope.” Nana cackled from the counter as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She snorted at Joker's unintelligible grumblings before she made her way back to the table and took a seat. Leaning in and closing her eyes over the cup, she inhaled deeply. “Always loved this stuff. So much stronger than that crap we have on Thessia.”

“You never told me what happened after I dropped you off. How did you end up on Lessus?” Shepard asked.

“Well, now isn't that the question of all questions.” Nana locked gazes with her for a moment and nodded before glancing back down at her drink. “My girls were in trouble and I knew you'd show up, given enough time. Figured I'd hitch a ride back to Thessia if we made it through that mess. Something there you need to see anyway.”

“What's on Thessia I need to see, Nana? Why so cryptic?” Shepard leaned across the table, pushing her half finished plate to the side.

“Finish your dinner, dear. That answer will keep, your meal won't.” and with that, Nana stood and headed back toward the crew quarters with her mug.

“Ugh...” Shepard let out a ragged growl of frustration when the asari disappeared around the corner. “I hate it when she does that.”

“Sounds like.... we'll be heading to Thessia fairly soon.” Garrus said with a slight flaring of his mandibles. It was clear he was enjoying her frustration with the asari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Nana is still aboard and has been making herself scarce. She's still holding onto a secret she has no desire to disclose to Shepard just yet.
> 
> nakaro - an agressive turian deer used as food stock.


	90. That Feeling of Closeness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mealtime seems to become foreplay for Shepard and Garrus as the residual side effects of the stims still course through them both. Smuff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garrus initiated a smut chapter. Read at your own risk. If you want to skip, you won't miss anything critical. Dual pov, they insisted.

Garrus watched Shepard closely for a few minutes during their meal. He had to be sure that 15 percent margin of error had not affected her on some fundamental level. What he saw and heard from her settled his concerns in short order. He relaxed into his meal with the first bite and savored it slowly.

The turian could not help the faint snicker that escaped him at Nana's sudden appearance, snark and disappearance. The asari certainly loved her drama. _Some things never change_.

The moment Shepard seemed to let her frustration pass, she sniffed at the smell rolling off his plate and smiled. “That smells damn good, Garrus.”

Garrus raised a brow-plate at her when she reached across the table with her fork and twisted off a small piece of the meat. He watched her as she held it up to her nose and inhaled deeply, eyes closing as if the aroma was intoxicating. The turian was about to say something when she suddenly popped it into her mouth and chewed. He remembered her reaction to the vorsin ration bar and hoped she was not about to have a repeat of that. Funny as hell though it had been, he was not sure his meal would survive him practically dying of laughter over it.

“Oh god...” Shepard said with a frown as she wiped a corner of her mouth with a finger.

_Here it comes.._.. the thought rolled through his mind as his eyes locked on her. That finger disappeared into her mouth as she sucked the juice off it hungrily. His mandibles fluttered at the action and his breath caught.

“It's like a cow and a deer had a baby...” she moaned softly as she chewed at it a little more. “...and it nursed from a honey comb its whole life.”

“I take it... that's good?” Garrus asked with a slight sideways tilt of his head.

“It's incredible. I'm jealous.” Shepard smiled at him passed the finger she stuck back in her mouth.

Eyes glued to that finger, his mandibles flexed faintly with every motion of her mouth. Finally, he could take no more of it and a deep growl reverberated through his chest. “You know... you keep doing that....”

“Hm...mm...” she breathed a seductive laugh at him. A glint of mischief blossoming in her eyes the moment she realized how enraptured his attention really was.

“Shit's gettin' too deep for me. I'm out.” Joker grumbled as he glanced between the two of them and stood. He grabbed his mug and beat feet toward the elevator.

Shepard watched him go for a second and started giggling as her eyes returned to Garrus. The turian was tapping his chin with a talon thoughtfully. His head tilted slightly to the side and downward. He knew the display did not mean to his human mate what it would have meant to another turian. Exposing his neck to her was an instinctive invitation of intimacy. Showing off the length of his fringe was similar to an earth bird showing off its plumage. He knew this from his research and he knew the gestures meant little to humans, but he could not help himself. It was his evolutionary priming at play. So he added a growl of desire to the mix and that grabbed her attention.

“You weren't kidding, were you? This...” and she stuck her finger into her mouth, sucking on it and pulling it out with a faint pop for emphasis. “...is really doing a number on you...”

He growled with a faint whine as his sub-harmonics heightening into a frenzy of desire. The turian finished the last of his meal in near record time. Getting to his feet, he took care of his dishes quickly and returned to her side of the table. She watched him with a growing smile.

Instead of taking a seat beside her, he stopped behind her. His hands found her shoulders and he leaned down enough to roll his tongue from her collar line to the shell of her ear. His voice, when it came, was a rumble of seduction tangling with the purring growl of his sub-harmonics. “I'll... be in our quarters.”

Before she could turn, he bolted at a quick clip toward the elevator. _Two can play at varren and pyjack_. He knew exactly what his voice did to her when he dropped it like that. What she had been doing with that finger was absolutely obscene to his way of thinking and he loved it. He shifted uncomfortably as the elevator doors closed just as she came into view. His plates had already released him and his pants were rubbing almost painfully against him.

Garrus felt like a juvenile with Shepard. It seemed he was unsheathed at a look, a gesture or even a word. She did that to him and he could not get enough of it. He thought, on occasion, he might like to spend an entire day in bed with her once this war was over. _Or maybe a week..._.

#

Shepard grumbled in frustration the second the elevator doors closed between her and her bondmate. She had not realized just how wound up he really was until he had stopped behind her and dropped his voice into _that_ tone. Catching a glimpse of him just as the doors sealed, she let out a hungry giggle. If the bulge just under the lower edge of his tunic was any indication, he was already out of his plates. She meant to keep him out for awhile.

The elevator was not moving fast enough for her taste and she poked at the call again. She knew he was already in their quarters by now. They were both still burning through the stims and she could think of no better an activity to use them properly. After all, their last mission had left them both jittery, with little means of burning them off. It was not something she would care to repeat even though this bit of extra curricular activity might prove so much more interesting.

For now, Shepard meant to ignore the fact that she still had stims coursing through her blood. She planned to enjoy what was left of the night with her mate and get a fresh start in the morning. They both just needed to burn through the synthetic adrenaline in their systems.

The moment the elevator reached her level again, she was through the doors before they had fully opened. A surge of fire rippled through her groin at the thought of Garrus already naked in their quarters. If someone had told her, when she had first met him, that a turian would show her the tenderness a human never had, she would have thought them crazy. Now she could not imagine her life without him. Some might say he had ruined her for human men. She would say he had simply spoiled her, and she would not have it any other way.

The doors opened and she was through them and heading for the doors to their quarters in four strides. Humanity generally forgot that they were apex predators themselves. Shepard was reminded of that fact now as she entered their quarters. The light from the fish tank was the main source of lighting at the moment. Her nose caught the mingled scents of the two of them intermingled in the room. It smelled like love, safety... home.

Scanning the room, she did not see him. Goosebumps raised on her skin at the scent of cinnamon and hot apple cider, however. The scent of his arousal was unmistakable. The scrape of a talon on the floor mat in the sitting area gave away his location and she smiled. He had a thing for the furniture over there.

Shepard began shedding clothing on her way through the room toward the stairs. By the time she reached the bottom, she was just as naked as he was. Garrus sat roughly in the middle of the couch watching her. The light caught his eyes just right and the faint green reflection of night vision flashed at her. She had long ago grown used to that. Her own research had uncovered the fact that turians had just slightly better night vision than a human. The reflective cells in their eyes were so few that unless the lighting was just right, the glow of green rarely ever made itself known.

#

Garrus heard her enter the room and he let out a sigh that was a mixture of longing and satisfaction. He had hoped she would follow him directly, but he knew there were about a million other obligations that might draw her away. He had one hand just below his keel on the thinner plates of his abdomen. The other slowly ran up the underside of his erection, palm open against it, waiting. Hard as he was, it barely swayed at the touch. The rippling twitch of his ridges produced a rolling spasm from tip to base and his mandibles flexed at the sensation. Eyes rolling closed briefly in desire.

Shepard locked her eyes to him the second she reached the level of the living area. Already naked, she dropped the last article of clothing at the base of the steps. She wasted very little time making her way to him. The coffee table slid away from the couch with an audible scuff at the lightest touch of her biotics. She stopped before him, between his knees and he started to lean forward, to touch her. The commander caught his hand in hers and sank slowly to her knees before him. Resting her hands on his lightly plated thighs, she leaned forward and pressed the object of his distress between her breasts.

Eyes widening, he let out a slightly choked sound at her actions. He was definitely beginning to see the appeal of breasts. Even though they had been together for a good many months now, he had never guessed she might do... this. His breath caught when she added her mouth to the mix. She continued the sweet torture for several minutes before stopping suddenly.

Garrus growled faintly, sub-harmonics whining in protest. He did not have long to wait as she practically crawled up his body. Her forehead came to rest against his. Their eyes locked as her five-fingered hands did incredible things to him.

#

Shepard smiled at her turian 'victim' as she slithered up onto the couch, one knee on either side of him. One hand carefully caressed the bundle of nerves just inside the bottom of his seam while the other ghosted along his rippled shaft. She delighted in the sounds that were rolling out of him. The gasps tangled with the rumble of his sub-harmonics vibrating through her served only to enhance her desire for him. She rubbed her jaw against his mandibles in time to the rhythm of her stroking hands.

The long needy moan he breathed out was followed by his hands roaming over her frantically. The pad of one finger slipped over her folds and it was her turn to gasp. She buried her face into the left side of his neck, just below the rear flange of his mandible, and nibbled her way down. Another moan rumbled from him as his hands smoothed around her hips. She smiled against his hide and worked her way toward the tender hollow of his throat. His sub-harmonics pitched and hummed his desire as he tipped his head back to give her access.

Shepard ran her tongue up the center of his throat and across the underside of his jaw. She gently kissed his chin and worked her way up to his mouth plates. The second she reached them, he nipped her lips tenderly before presenting her the second most delicate part of his body. His tongue rolled against hers and drew a moan from her that matched his need.

#

Garrus tightened his grip ever so carefully on her hips the moment she moaned into his mouth. He broke the kiss and leaned forward to rub his mandible against her cheek before dipping down toward the scar of the bondmark. Gripping it gently, he drew her closer. His mouth tightened on the mark involuntarily with a sharp intake of breath when she unexpectedly sheathed him within her. Wrapping his arms around her, he lapped at the three bleeding marks his mouth plates had reopened. It was as much an apology as a reaffirmation of their bond.

When he had first marked her, he had been terrified of the consequences of that action. Due to the uncertainty of her reaction, he had not followed the custom through. There had been no tender apology made to the wound. Making up for that now, he shuddered against her as she began to move in nature's oldest rhythm.

The turian rumbled his love for her along his sub-harmonics. The low rumbles and high trills spoke a language all their own. Of all the intelligent races in the galaxy, that language seemed exclusive to turians. True, humans were capable of limited sub-harmonics, but not on a conscious level. Theirs was instinctive, uncontrolled and somewhat chaotic.

Garrus reveled in the sounds Shepard made. She was the most open and honest of them the humans he had met over the years. She said what she meant and meant what she said, never leaving any doubt in her intent. He had discovered that carried over into intimate settings as wells. On an instinctive level, he knew beyond a doubt that his heart was safe with her. She would never leave him and she would honor the life-bonding to her last breath.

Letting go of their emotions was not something turians were generally taught to do. _I'm not a very good turian_. The thought no longer invoked a sense of wrongness within him. Instead, it felt more a mark of pride or honor. It was especially true with his bondmate.

Tracing his tongue along the line of muscle that lead to her ear, Garrus nibbled at the lobe as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her breathing was getting faster, a sign that she was so much closer to her peak than he was. He meant to turn her into a human puddle before the night was through. Running one hand up her spine to support her, he shifted and rolled her onto the couch. She gasped at the sudden shift even as he buried his right knee into the couch. His spur wedged against the back cushions. He ignored the kink it created as he dropped his left foot to the floor for leverage. His leg pinned hers to the edge of the couch and he took full advantage of the position.

Shepard was practically sobbing his name in a matter of minutes. The second she clenched around him, he carefully withdrew from her and dragged her to her feet. The couch was a favorite place to start, but he preferred to finish in the comfort of their bed. It would be so much easier to curl up together and drift off if they were already in the bed.

Garrus drew her toward the bed, she did not resist his urging. In fact, she gave him that lopsided smile and crawled across the bed in front of him. Hard as he still was, her ass pointing at him like that was far too much to resist. He crawled across the bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist. She chuckled, stopping in position with her feet between his knees. He drew her back against him and felt her hand against the underside of his shaft. He moaned softly at the touch even as she lined him up.

They both let out a moan of fulfillment as she came down on him. Each ridge shifting into her with a slight jointing sensation. As she raised up to rest her back against his keel, his mouth clamped over the bondmark. She squeezed her thighs together with a soft gasping chuckle and his eyes nearly crossed.

#

Shepard moved against him, his ridges rippling within her. The feel of him drove her crazy and she could not get enough of it. The closer she drove him to release, the more his sub-harmonics seemed to sing. If she listened close enough, she could hear separate tones that almost seemed like words. Every word he spoke so softly near her ear was reverberated and amplified in his sub-harmonics. Strong feelings came through as warm trills and vibrations, their meanings no longer lost on her. As they both climbed higher toward release, she clearly understood that his sub-harmonics were more an every present song. He said so much more beneath his words than she had ever imagined.

One heartbeat. One breath. One thrust later and they tumbled over that edge together. After a moment he withdrew from her and shifted them to rest on the mattress. She twisted around to face him and he lay there gazing at her. One large three-fingered hand caressed her left cheek gently. Half the galaxy probably thought she was completely insane coming to a turian for tenderness, but they did not know her turian. The man she saw in those clear crystal blue eyes was one of the most gentle, loving and tender individuals she had ever known. _No wonder I'm so drawn to him_.

#

Garrus practically draped himself over her as she shifted onto her back to gaze at him. He caressed her face for a moment before running his hand down her arm. Bringing her hand up to his face, he feathered the tip of his tongue over the inside of her wrist and closed his eyes at the emotions welling up within him. When he opened them again, he realized the turian scripted tattoo was around that wrist. He nuzzled gently into her wrist and locked eyes with her. One day, he meant to tell her exactly what that script meant. For now, he tucked her close and draped his leg over hers possessively. His toes flexed happily as he enjoyed the feeling of closeness.


	91. A Fragment of Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Legion reveals he still carries a fragment of Reaper code. Shepard isn't sure how she feels about that.

Shepard slept soundly until the dream captured her. The boy burst into flames, as he always did, right before her eyes. She had grown used to that part of the dream by now. It rarely drover her from sleep in desperate alarm these last weeks. At least not since Harbinger had been removed from the equation.

Catching a glimpse of Garrus in the distance, his armor melting in a Reaper beam... That was enough to draw a gasp from her lungs. She shot up from sleep in a near panic. The image of him turning to ash and whipping away on a wind that did not touch her. That was enough to chase her up to the waking world with a strangled cry of horror. The blanket slid down from her shoulders and she looked around trying to regain her bearings. She was alone. The turian nowhere to be seen.

Anxiety nearly overwhelmed her then and she dragged the covers back. The outside of her right thigh was reddened and lightly chafed from their earlier activity. She breathed a little easier at the evidence of his continued presence. Some terrified corner of her mind had sworn he was dead, that he had died under the assault of some Reaper beam somewhere. She could not quite place where it had been.

The forest had seemed to fade into chaos before her, him in the middle of it. Fragmented wisps of battle. Gunfire, screams and explosions. Reaper beams and a bright light all surrounded by utter darkness. She could not make sense of it. Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, her frown deepened as the wisps began to fade. Snatches of the nightmare remained to haunt her as she heard the bathroom door slide open.

Looking up, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the distinctive shadow of the turian separate himself from the frame of light behind him. The blue glow of the fish tank glinted faintly over the slight metallic sheen of his plates as he came down the stairs.

“You should be sleeping, ma-kee-sa.” he said softly, sub-harmonics humming faintly as he clearly took note of her current state. “Nightmare?”

Shepard nodded as he made his way to the bed and sat on the edge beside her. He reached out and put his hands on her knees. The moment he made contact, she gripped his forearms as if they were a lifeline. She did not care that the rounded off spurs midway down the backs of his arms dug into her palms. All that matter in that moment was that he was here, he was solid and he was alive. She did not realize she let out a half sob at the contact until he scooted closer and extricated one arm from her grip to wrap it around her shoulders.

“Must have been a bad one.” he murmured, the undertones of his sub-harmonics ratcheting up into a deep resonate purr he clearly knew had a soothing affect on her.

“Yeah.” she huffed and closed her eyes as he pressed his brow-plates against her forehead. “You could say that.”

“Hmm... wanna talk about it?” he asked quietly as he brushed the tip of his plated nose against hers.

“It... was confused chaos...” she began and locked eyes with him when he drew back enough to allow her to speak. “Most of it's already fading.”

“Let it go. No sense holding onto the stress.” he rumbled.

Shepard nodded and maintain eye contact, her lips parted with the intent to say something. Her mind was grasping at the images of him practically melting before her eyes. She knew she could not bare to lose him like that. It would end her.

Finally, she let out a breath and ducked her head against his. He ran a large hand up into her hair, cupping the back of her head as he brought his mouth plates to her brow. His mandibles twitched to either side as he pressed those plates to her forehead lightly.

“No Shepard without Vakarian...” she breathed softly and tilted her head back enough to lock eyes with those crystal blue orbs of his again. “...right?”

“Absolutely.” he said firmly as his other hand took hers. The pad of his thumb rubbed small circles over the turian script around that wrist.

“Commander...” came Joker's voice over the comm abruptly. “I know it's early, but Admiral Raan insisted you meet her and Legion in the war room.”

“Back to the grind.” Shepard moaned softly as she let her head drop to the rim of her bondmate's cowl. She made sure to avoid the whole in the right side.

“Hmmm...” Garrus simply hummed as he stood and drew her to her feet as well.

It took them minutes only to dress and leave their quarters. Minutes to reach the war room and minutes to lay out a plan. To Shepard, it felt like hours. Something big was coming, she could feel it deep in her gut. It could have been indigestion from the piece of nakaro she had snitched from her bondmate's plate, but she knew better. It was more than that, deeper. This was like the sense of dread that had washed over her seconds before tearing her way back into the waking world from the nightmare. It was a profound sense of impending doom and she had learned long ago not to ignore it.

Stopping before the dais, she glanced between Raan and Legion. The quarian was standing on the opposite side from the geth, arms crossed with an angry glare on her face beneath the mask. She could tell at a glance, things had not been going as well as they might have.

Shaking her head, she locked her eyes on Legion. “What's going on?”

“We were simply illustrating the best route to be taken by the ground team.” Legion stated.

“It was insisting it be allowed to go alone to target the base.” Raan said in exasperation.

“It is the logical choice. There is a 98.2 percent chance no organic life will be lost in this scenario.” Legion stated the statistics as if it was reciting a menu.

“I still don't trust you.” Raan growled, waving a hand at the geth angrily.

“Enough.” Shepard growled quietly and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was tired of the bickering. “We're taking a ground team. Legion, you're coming with us.”

“As you wish, Shepard-Commander.” Legion acknowledged.

Turning on her heel, Shepard headed back up the stairs and out of the war room. She intended to put as much space between Legion and Raan as possible. _An entire galaxy would due, but I'll take a planet._ Garrus walked abreast of her and she glanced at him as they passed through the checkpoint. Her eyes slipped toward the two privates on duty here for a moment. She dared one of them to make a snide remark about their non-human crew or allies with her bondmate present. By now, everyone on board knew she and Garrus were bonded, including these two idiots. Even if they had trouble distinguishing one alien from another, there was no question they knew who he was. His appearance was unique.

The silence was deafening as they passed through and into the CIC. Neither of the women made so much as peep. That was fine with her. She did not want to deal with the xenophobia that still seemed to permeate a few sections of her ship. Cerberus might be long gone from the Normandy, but they had still left their mark.

“Tali, meet us in the shuttle bay.” Shepard finally opened her comm inside the elevator. The quarian needed to be there for this.

“I'm already here.” came Tali's reply.

Shepard frowned slightly at that and nodded at the quarian the second the elevator doors opened. She realized Raan must have directed her to the shuttle before even bothering to have Joker call her. This mission was likely to move fast with the current amount of organization being brought to the forefront.

“I'm here as well, dear.” Nana's head peeked out of the shuttle's open hatch.

“You're staying on the Normandy...” Shepard began with a shake of her head as she stopped before her locker.

“Like hell I'm letting you charge off on this one alone. Something doesn't feel right about this whole Reaper base thing. Since when do the Reapers have _bases?_ Think, girl!” Nana snapped and eyed them all critically.

“The Collector base...” Shepard mentioned as Garrus helped secure her chest plate to the back.

“Exactly, girl! The _Collector_ base... not the _Reaper_ base.” Nana grumbled and secured a teal vambrace around her left arm.

“She's... um... she's got a point, Shepard.” Garrus stammered as he held one pauldron in place as she clipped the straps around her shoulder.

“Really?” Shepard grumbled, locking eyes with her bondmate before letting out a breath of frustration. “Fine. Grab the rest of your gear.”

Shepard glared at the asari for a moment as the blue woman stepped out of the shuttle and grabbed a shotgun from the workbench. She started to step away and turned back to grab a pistol as well. Seemingly satisfied with that, she headed back into the shuttle and Shepard could have sworn she saw the longest of her head tentacles twitch at the tip.

“Shepard...” Garrus began and cut himself off at the finger suddenly in his face.

“She is a thousand and six years old...” Shepard grumbled.

“And more experienced than any of us.” Garrus stated softly.

“I can't argue that.” Shepard finally conceded with a sigh. “But it doesn't mean I have to like putting the oldest asari in the galaxy in danger.”

“Her choice, Shepard. She's... um...” he seemed to search for the right word. With a flick of his left mandible, he found it. “...tenacious.”

Once her armor was secured and Garrus was firmly encased in his own, Shepard made her way onto the shuttle. Her eyes locked to Nana briefly before she turned to Legion. The hatch was closing and the engines powering up as she began going over the plan.

“The syncing laser needs a line of sight. What's the fastest route?” she asked the geth.

“The upper entrances. Target the base before the geth can organize resistance.” Legion stated.

“What about you?” Shepard asked. She knew Legion had originally suggested he carry the targeting laser.

“We will deactivate defense systems and acquire an escape vehicle.” Legion said simply.

Shepard frowned faintly, looking up at the synthetic as she looped her hand through a personnel strap. “You can do that?”

Legion clasped his hands behind his back in a semblance of a parade rest stance. He looked down briefly before his optical sensors locked with her eyes again. “This unit still carries remnants of... the Old Machine's upgrade code. We can break any geth security.”

Shepard said nothing, merely frowned at the geth. She was not sure how she felt about this revelation. True, the Reaper code had upgraded the geth to something resembling a living thing. That still did not make her comfortable with its source.

“You are concerned.” Legion said after a moment.

Thinking it through, Shepard realized it was no worse than trusting another organic. The AI had proven himself more than once already. If she started distrusting him now... Finally, she nodded and released the strap overhead.“You know your limits. I trust you... I'm more concerned you didn't tell me about the upgrades.”

“You were tolerant of our recovery of geth intelligences from the server, but this matter _is_ different. _Personal_.” Legion stressed the word not unkindly.

Shepard narrowed her eyes as the realization struck her. Her voice relinquished the sharp edge of command for a moment. It was a statement, not a question. “You were ashamed.”

“Shame is an emotional or cognitive response to societal judgment. It should not apply here.” Legion seemed to struggle with the very concept.

“But it does. You're evolving, changing based on that 'remnant of code'.” Shepard nodded and let out a breath, pressing her hand to her brow. “I'm on your side here, Legion. I want to help your people.”

“We did not intend to cause distress.” Legion stated, turning to face the hatch.

“How'd we get here?” Shepard demanded, her mind chewing on the implications of an evolving AI. That was the least of her concerns, however. Legion keeping secrets, that was the big issue. She let out a frustrated sigh and looked back up at him. “Keeping secrets? The geth are better than this. _You're_ better than this.”

Legion ducked what passed for his head down, staring at the floor before turning to face her. His head remained down, optical sensors cast toward her feet. “No. Based on empirical evidence, they are not.”

Shepard let out another sigh as the hatched opened on Rannoch. “Yeah.”

“We...” Legion said, indicating itself with one hand. “...will endeavor to be better.”


	92. Claiming the Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tali is claiming land on Rannoch and Garrus just has to wonder; can a nomadic people really settle down in one place?

“Proceed to the upper entrance. We will exit here and procure an escape vehicle.” Legion stated, pointing at the ground rushing by below.

“Got it.” Shepard said with a nod as the geth pulled his rifle from his back. Before he could step out of the shuttle, she spoke again. “Legion... good luck.”

“Acknowledged.” the synthetic stated before stepping out.

Garrus followed Shepard out of the shuttle the second it touched down. Tali and Nana drew up the rear. For her part, Tali seemed to be trying to look everywhere at once. Rannoch was a very different place in the light of a dawning day. He slowed a fraction as the quarian jogged around him. She passed Shepard in a few quick strides and squatted down to run her gloved hand through the soil.

“I can't believe it.” the quarian breathed and brought some of that soil up to her open omni-tool. “I don't think it's really sunk in yet. The homeworld. _My world_.”

Garrus had an idea of what she feeling. He might feel the similarly if there was anything left of his own world to reclaim once the Reapers were beaten. _If we can beat them_. He closed his eyes at that thought, refusing to examine it further.

“Look at the sky. And the rock formations? They used to write poems about them.” Tali's voice was filled with reverent awe as she stood and pointed out those features.

“When we're done, maybe you'll write a new one.” Shepard suggested as she came to stop beside the quarian.

Tali held a hand out toward the landscape before them. “This.. is Rannoch, the world of our ancestors. Our bodies carried the seeds that spread the dessert grass. You've heard me say 'Keelah sel'ia'? The best translation I can come up with is; 'By the homeworld I hope to see someday'.”

Shepard moved with Tali as the woman paced toward the edge of a cliff. “Looks like you're seeing it today.”

Garrus snorted faintly as Tali raised both hands in a box shape. “The living room window will be right... here.”

“Something I should know?” Shepard asked, a faint laugh in her voice as she watched the quarian woman in amusement.

“I just claimed the land. I know, it doesn't mean much, but when this is over... I'll have a home.” Tali said as she faced the commander.

“I don't know, Tali. You think you can settle down, live in _one_ place...?” Garrus asked quietly.

“The quarians _have_ spent centuries as a nomadic race.” Shepard was smiling.

“ _Keelah.._.” Tali gasped and twisted her fingers together. “I never thought of it like that. We _have_ gotten used to carrying our homes around with us.”

At that, Shepard squatted down and ran her hand through a few loose stones. She selected one and stood, looking it over for a moment. Garrus flicked a mandible in a half smile as the commander placed the stone in Tali's hands.

The gesture was not lost on the quarian. Her glowing eyes seemed to smile behind her mask and she nodded. “Well... that's a start.”

“I'm not sure... you can carry an _entire_... planet around with you.” Garrus snarked.

Tali gave him a look and grumbled something under her breath. It only served to make him snicker. He had a fair idea that she was calling him everything but a child of Palaven. The friendship that had developed between them was an easy thing. So much so, he knew, that there had been speculation on the SR-1. Some of the crew had believed he and Tali were a couple for a time. That was not how he had ever seen her, however. The quarian was more like a little sister to him, had been from the moment she first set foot on the SR-1.

Shepard moved off toward the farthest edge of that cliff and the rest of the team followed. What appeared to be a geth constructed base, much like the jamming tower facility, came into view in the valley below. That had to be the base they were here for, he realized. There was nothing else in the area but rocks, cliffs and a few straggly dessert plants. He had to admit, he was enjoying the warmth of Rannoch. It was a few degrees cooler than Palaven with just a touch more humidity. His homeworld could have been like this and he would have been perfectly content. Palaven, however, was just a bit too hot for him. That was part of the reason he had left it for the Citadel.

Shepard wasted little time in dropping down onto a ledge and making her way down to the valley's floor. It was a short climb, to be sure, but he was none too pleased that she was already taking risks. He dropped down right behind her and made his way to the valley floor followed by Tali and Nana. If he had not glanced her way, he might have forgotten the asari was with them at all.

“Move, boy!” Nana suddenly snapped as she darted behind a large platform the second her feet touched the ground beside him.

“Crap...” Garrus grumbled as he spotted the geth barely a heartbeat before the bullet whizzed past his head.

Jerking his helmet on, he threw himself down in the dirt beside a lower section of that platform. He leveled the black widow on the edge and scanned the area. His visor read multiple targets at varying intervals. The view through the scope painted their precise locations. He flinched when Tali launched her combat drone, eyes flicking toward Shepard. The commander visibly cringed at the tones emitting from the drone as it passed by.

Mandibles pinning to his jaw, Garrus realized that just confirmed what he had been noticing the last few weeks. Her hearing was changing, improving to hear a fuller range of sound. That would explain why she had somehow heard and seemingly understood his sub-harmonics during the last mission. Some part of him hoped that understanding continued to increase even as he took careful aim at his first target.

The geth went down fast, dropping hard in the dirt with a mechanical squeal. Cocking his rifle, he went for the next geth target. These seemed different, more individualized somehow. It dawned on just what was different by his third dropped synthetic; their coloring. Some were red, while others were blue or black. Fewer still were white or silver. _When did that happen? Could that be the affect of the Reaper code?_ He was certain it must be.

“The geth jamming towers are interfering with your signal, Commander. I'm compensating to keep you and the team patched in.” Traynor's voice came clearly over their joint comm channel.

“Good work, Traynor.” Shepard said calmly as the last geth feel. She vaulted over what was clearly some sort of brace beam inlaid in Rannoch's bedrock.

Shepard did not make it far before she was forced into cover again. A stealth hidden geth trooper fired on her in rapid succession. Garrus slipped into cover beside her and peeked around the opposite side of the giant clamp. Tali's drone was already on the, but he meant to make sure it went down. He took the shot with very little effort involved in lining it up. It went down with a crackle of fried electronics.

The commander was looking around with a confused look on her face. She tilted her head slightly to the side as if trying to hear something better. He heard nothing and relaxed his stance. Her eyes widened a fraction and her hand shot out to grip the rim of his armored cowl, dragging him sharply back into cover toward her. He heard the zipping ping of the bullet a second after it grazed across the back of his armor.

Garrus nodded and let out a sharp breath before squatting down and creeping along the lowest edge of that clamp. The moment he found a clear shot over the edge of a beam, he took it. He let out a frustrated growl as he spotted more geth filing out of the entrance below. This was not going to be an easy run. Of course, he had never expected it might be. It was supposed to be a Reaper base, after all. He just hoped the tech responsible for indoctrination was not present here. The turian had no desire to become a mindless slave of the Reapers. Less in becoming a Marauder.

Shepard threw out a singularity to capture what she could of those rolling out of that entrance below them. Several of them were caught up in it, electronics squealing as they spun close together. They banged into each other seconds before the singularity imploded.

Waiting a few minutes only, Shepard vaulted over the beam and headed toward that entrance. Garrus followed close on her heels. He meant to ensure she made it to that door without resistance. The turian twisted and turned, glancing this way and that, gun following his movements as he tracked behind her. The caution born of years of combat kept his steps quick and his senses sharp.

Tali moved ahead of them the second it became clear the geth were down. Garrus nearly jumped out of his plates when the blast door slammed shut. His rifle swung toward the door with a sharp breath, expecting some mechanical nightmare to jump out at them.

“ _Keelah!_ ” Tali hissed, dropping behind a boulder when more gunfire peppered the ground around them.

Shepard ran for the cover of a large ridge of rock facing the entrance. Garrus joined her and caught a glimpse of Nana making her way toward that entrance close to the building itself. She threw a sockwave out among the geth in the entryway, throwing them against the walls. They rained down to the ground in pieces.

“Shepard-Commander, you must climb to the upper level before geth units can fortify their position.” came Legion's voice over the joint comm channel abruptly.

“We're on our way.” Shepard confirmed as she glanced around for a way to access that upper level.

“Admiral Gerrel here. The Heavy Fleet has a clear path. All forward.” came the quarian admiral's voice a moment later.

“Geth fighter presence is negotiable. Patrol Fleet, break cover and engage.” came Raan's voice.

It was then that Garrus realized they were patched into the entire network of command. They would likely hear every bit of chatter between ships as they moved into position. For good or ill, they would hear it all.

“This... could get messy.” Garrus commented quietly as he moved along the beams leading to another platform not far from the door.

“Key to a private channel. They don't need to hear us. We'll just distract them.” Shepard ordered her team.

Garrus did as she suggested and flinched at the static that burst through his hearing receptor. Fortunately it did not last long. Once the rest of the team had grabbed the channel, all he heard was them.

“We all here?” Shepard asked.

The chorus of 'yeses' was a little louder than was strictly comfortable, but it was all the confirmation they needed. They heard the chatter between ships high above Rannoch, but now they would not interfere in that chatter.

“Here... up here!” Nana called from a platform a good twenty feet up with a wave of her arm.

“How does she move so fast for someone so old?” Garrus grumbled softly as his eyes locked to her form.

“I heard that, boy! Be glad I can still move this fast. I have a feeling you kids need me here.” Nana grumbled over the comm.

“Right...” he breathed. _Like a thorn in the eye_. That last, he kept strictly to himself.

Shepard moved quickly, climbing up level by level until she reached the top. Garrus and Tali followed close behind. He was never more glad to see the ladder, when they came to it, than he was in that moment. Hauling himself up over waist and chest high ledges was fine for the first couple of levels. More than that and he started to feel the burn in his arms and upper back. Fit though he was, dragging double his weight up with his arms regularly was not something he was really trained to do.

Vega, now that human could have dragged himself up like that for hours. He thought maybe the human had the right idea though. His workouts seemed to focus on total body strength. In a sparring match, he wondered vaguely who might come out the victor. He had yet to drag the man onto the mat.

The gunfire from the level across from them caught him off guard for an instant and he tucked himself behind a section of plated railing. _Get your head in the game, Vakarian!_ He grumbled at himself when he realized he might well end up getting himself killed if he allowed his thoughts to continue wandering like that.

Shepard had the geth down in a matter of seconds. One clean shot through the center of its chest and it tumbled over the railing. She moved to the left the second it disappeared toward the ground below. Garrus vaulted over the two large pipes behind her. She took a step to the left along a catwalk and the turian heard it; a high pitch that caught his attention sharply. He scanned the area, visor displaying heat sources, vital stats and movement. Seconds, barely a heartbeat and breath before the geth fired, he saw it.

Grabbing Shepard, he dropped, allowing the weight of armored body to drag them to the floor of the catwalk behind another section of plated railing. Tali and Nana were out of the direct line of fire, one well behind them and the other ahead and to the left.

The rocket missed Shepard by inches as it flared past them. Garrus thought his heart might well hammer its way through his keel at the close call. _So many close calls. When does it end? When does the luck abandon us? Spirits, one of us will go down and the other will have to deal with the aftermath. Better if we go together_.

“You alright?” Garrus asked after a moment.

“Yeah... you?” Shepard nodded her helmeted head. She had taken a queue from him the moment the first geth fired on them and dawned her helmet as well.

“I think I bruised my ass.” he grumbled with a faint laugh.

Shepard snorted a laugh at that. Even as they both heard Tali's drone short the geth out. “It could be worse.”

Garrus nodded, peeking over the railing. He caught a glimpse of Nana hopping across to the other side. His voice was little more than a growl as he drew the commander's attention to the asari. “Crap... what is she doing?”

“I don't know, but we better catch up to her... and fast.” Shepard grumbled as she levered herself back up to her feet.


	93. Pushing the Envelope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nana is definitely feeling her age as she moves along with Shepard's team through the geth facility.

Nana moved along the platforms nimbly even though her joints complained at every jump she made between them. Grumbling under her breath as she pinwheeled her arms at one jump, she stepped forward to catch her balance. “I'm getting too damn old for this.”

Looking back across her path, she watched as Shepard and the rest of her team scrambled to catch up to her. She shook her head faintly at the sight. That turian boy of hers was lugging that targeting device across his lower back, just below his carapace. She realized as she watched him leap across the open spaces between one platform and the next, he was the only one of them strong enough to carry it. For a turian male, he was practically a tank.

Hairless brow raising at the thought, she wondered how the women of his race viewed him. Nana nodded her head approvingly as she waited for them. She knew how it was. The asari had heard a few of the females on the citadel mention him a time or two. Most of them thought he was striking, even with the scars. One or two of them thought he was too bulky. Turian men were meant to be 'pretty', one had complained. She could only guess what they must have thought of that Saren creature a few years back.

A snort escaped her as Shepard drew up beside her. The commander eyed her suspiciously before asking, “What's so funny?”

“Nothing, dear... just thinking.” she breathed as she headed past the human toward the next ladder leading upward.

The asari could feel the commander's eyes on her back as she moved along. Senile was not something she would ever claim to be. She knew full well that Shepard was picking apart every nuance of her presence here. Nana herself still did not fully comprehend exactly why she had felt the nagging need to accompany them on this mission. Perhaps it had something to do with that novel geth 'toy' traipsing around the Normandy. Strange was how she would classify that thing. Polite, inquisitive and informative at the same time, Legion reminded her of a toddler. Always curious about the world around it. She sincerely hoped it got the chance to explore its newfound self-awareness.

The hope was that Legion would somehow rub off on these geth nightmares that just seemed to crawl out of the woodwork like bugs. Tucking herself into a corner, she gave Shepard a sharp look before returning her gaze to the geth below. Neither her shotgun nor the quarian's had the range to take those things out. And, she realized, Shepard had been taking it easy on the biotics over the last few missions. It was then that she realized exactly why she needed to be here. Her eyes locked on the human knowingly.

_Burned out, that's what she is... or near enough_. Nana realized in a flash of intuition. That meant one thing to the asari; she would have to pick up the biotic slack that Shepard currently could not. That was fine with her. It made her feel useful, after all.

Settling into that idea, Nana peeked around the railing once more and tossed a shockwave out at the mechanical monsters below. A thousand years of biotics training was about to pay off as she began tossing skills around right and left. She would not face these monsters in a hand-to-hand setting if she could help it at all. They would undoubtedly overpower her if she tried.

The second the last one feel below, the quarian slid down the ladder. “Come one! We need to get inside before they send reinforcements!”

“The child's right...” Nana began and snapped back out of the line of fire with a snarl as a rocket nearly took her head off.

“Crap...” Garrus grumbled as he all but threw himself down that ladder, assault rifle in hand.

“What are you doing! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Nana barked at him the second she had a clear shot at the geth that stepped out from behind a stack of crates not far from the turian.

“We need to get in there... now.” Garrus grumbled as he put the muzzle of his assault rifle in the chassis of another geth before him.

That geth all but exploded, raining bits and pieces everywhere as the turian pulled the trigger. Shepard had moved more to the left of the taller sections of railing and let out a rasping grunt as a rocket hit and flashed back in her face. Dropping down, the woman shook her head, obviously trying to clear it.

“Stay down, girl! You'll get your head blown off!” Nana snarled as she threw a warp at the geth who had fired the rocket. She glared down at Garrus as he attempted to double back. “Go, boy! She's alright!”

The turian nodded and turned back toward his crowd control efforts reluctantly. Nana sidled along the railing to Shepard and gripped her helmeted head in one hand, forcing her to turn it. Nodding to herself, she noted the scorch marks and the cracked visor lens. Beyond that, she and the helmet seemed fine.

“You ready for this, girl? Can your amp take it?” Nana snapped as she returned fire at a persistent geth below.

“Do I have a choice?” Shepard grumbled and shook her head once more.

“Fresh out of choices, child.” Nana let out a snarky reply as she took out another geth.

“Then I've got this.” Shepard nodded and drew her pistol.

Nana nodded. The girl recovered much faster than a normal human would. She knew it had to be those Cerberus cybernetics at work. How much of those were based in Reaper tech, she wondered. She fervently hoped for as little as possible on that front. The alternative could be disastrous.

Shepard tossed out a warp of her own at the last remaining geth in their section. It virtually disintegrated where it stood. As soon as she was sure the thing was down, she was off and moving again. Nana followed her to the lower level.

It took them a matter of seconds to catch up to where the turian had run off to. He was hacking a door lock within a short corridor. Several geth lay scattered around him. Clearly they had resisted.

The door opened with a snapping hiss barely a minute after they joined him. Shepard stepped through, the others right behind her. They took a long look at this new area with banks of computers along one wall.

“Shepard-Commander. Hostile geth are closing a blast shield over the base.” came Legion's voice over the joint comm.

“ _Dammit!_ ” Shepard snarled before charging forward heedless of what might be ahead of her.

Nana and the others followed at a fast clip. Each kept scanned the area, alert for any sign of hostility. They found themselves outside on one of the walkways they had seen near the top of the facility. The asari had not realized they had climbed so high.

Shepard skidded to a halt at the railing overlooking the closing blast shield. Garrus stopped beside her and leaned on the railing. The butt of his gun rested on his hip crest as he shook his head.

“Damn. It'd take hours to punch through that shield.” he growled as it sealed over the 'hole'.

“We don't have that kinda time.” Shepard sighed as she too glared down at that shield.

“We have located an override atop the geth fortifications. It can retract the blast shield.” Legion stated over that joint comm channel.

Nana almost thought their geth sounded... happy? _Maybe like a loyal puppy_. It was a silent grumble to herself. She had no intention of pushing that loyalty to its limit. There was no telling what that geth might do.

“Anyone get a good look at that thing?” Shepard asked as the others rested against the railing for a moment.

“Briefly, yeah. If I had to guess, I'd say Reaper tech.” Garrus nodded and moved closer to her.

“They've put a lot of work into protecting that signal.” Tali commented.

“Right.” Shepard let out a faint sigh and nodded before pushing herself off the railing. “Let's blow it up.”

“That's my girl...” Garrus chuckled even as he lightly touched a finger to the scorched crack in her helmet's lens.

Moving along the walkway, it did not take them long to find trouble again. Trouble seemed to be Shepard's middle name. At least as far as Nana was concerned. Between the four of them, they made short work of this group of geth.

“More geth dropping in!” Garrus barked to the right.

Nana rolled her eyes at that and glanced over at him. He gave her a one shouldered shrug before sighting down his scope and taking one of the geth out. She had yet to see him charge any of those heat syncs he tended to toss around. It occurred to her to wonder if his biotics might not be as exhausted as his mate's. They had both been running hard almost non-stop for weeks now. Something eventually had to give or might well break them both.

It was then that she noticed the geth shorting out a short distance away. Overload, no doubt, but the turian's omni-tool was not open when his hand shot out toward them. She frowned at that. _Maybe his biotics aren't as exhausted as I thought. Maybe... he's a far cry stronger than I ever gave him credit for_. The realization settled on Nana like a ten ton boulder. It was a rare thing for her to miss a strong biotic under her tutelage. As she watched him for a moment, she realized she might have done just that with the turian. No wonder Shepard was drawn to him.

“Watch out! Cross-fire on the left side balcony!” Tali shouted as she moved forward to find cover.

Shepard moved forward and let out a yell as she threw a shockwave at the group of geth clustering on that balcony. That shockwave was bigger and stronger than any Nana had seen the girl toss out yet. It seemed Garrus was right in her concerns, her powers were growing. He had mentioned within her hearing once and the asari had watched for the signs. Now she knew for a certainty.

“Shepard-Commander. Do you need assistance?” Legion asked over the comm the second the last geth before them went down.

“Wonderful of him to ask now.” Nana grumbled.

“We'll get through.” Shepard said determinedly. “What's your status?”

“The Old Machine's upgrades grant us targeting superiority. We are drawing hostile fire from your position.” Legion answered.

“Keep it up. We'll get to the blast shield controls.” Shepard nodded and continued moving forward after a moment.

“I know Legion's on our side, but... Reaper code?” Garrus asked skeptically. It was clear he was anything but comfortable with that idea.

Nana had to admit, she was not exactly thrilled with it either. She held her tongue, however. The quarian girl was glaring at the turian as it was.

“No. Legion's on our side.” Tali said firmly.

“Never thought I'd hear you say that.” Shepard glanced at her with a nod.

“I never thought I'd be saying it.” Tali admitted softly.

“This change...” Nana stated with a sigh.

“And others stay the same.” Shepard murmured as they came to another door.

Tali stepped forward to hack the lock and glanced back at them in distress. “This isn't geth tech.”

Garrus made his way to her and looked the lock's code over. He glanced back at them, the expression hidden by his helmet. The words rumbled through his sub-harmonics like a shot. “It's Reaper code.”

“Can you open it?” Shepard asked as she looked past him at the door in question.

“Yeah. Give me a minute.” he rumbled and went to work on the lock.

True to his word, the door slid open in just under a minute. He was good, Nana would give him that. She began to understand why Shepard thought he would make a great tech. His sniper skills were through the stratosphere, however. It would be a shame if he lost his focus on that in favor of another profession. His current skill set was far too valuable to the team for that.


	94. What's in a Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle wounds and banter, that's the name of the game.

The moment they stepped through that next door, they found themselves in a corridor filled with cooling elements arching from floor to ceiling. Moving deeper into the facility, Shepard began to notice all the elements of a super computer. It looked much like she imagined the VR world might look if it were somehow transferred to the real world.

“Admiral Gerrel to all ships! We've got geth frigates inbound on the Civilian Fleet!” came the quarian's voice.

“Koris here. Civilian defenders are on an intercept course. We'll hold them, Gerrel.”

That was the first chatter they had heard in awhile. Shepard honestly hoped that was a good sign. There was no telling the damage Reaper controlled geth might do to the quarian fleet.

The came around a corner to another door that opened quickly enough. It was good to know that the geth had not expected them to make it so far. No security measure had clearly been taken so deep. That meant access might not be restricted once they reached those controls.

Unfortunately, there was resistance, however. There were geth on the other side of the room. She began to realize that all geth were armed at all times as these drew their weapons and began to fire. The commander did not regret taking those units down. They had chosen their side and, in her opinion, it was the wrong side.

Tali's drone zipped across the open space and shorted out several of them. She threw a singularity at the ones closest to the railing. And Nana tossed out a warp. The turian beside her palmed a couple of heat syncs. She had wondered if he was going to resort to those this round or not. He seemed just as exhausted as she was. These last few runs had been chained together too closely. There was not enough time to truly recuperate.

Garrus glanced over the railing he was tucked behind briefly before shifting his grip on the now glowing heat syncs. Even his shout sounded tired before he threw the things as hard as he could. “Firing high impact shot!”

Shepard ducked down just as the things exploded. She peeked over the railing a few seconds later to see scorches on the wall behind where the geth had been. It was a thing of beauty.

“Scratch one!” the turian hooted.

“Or ten.” Nana snarked.

The lack of the sound of gunfire followed. Aside from the factor sounds around them, all was quiet. Garrus was the first to stand, fingers tapping the side of his helmet as he looked around. “Clear.”

Standing, Shepard glanced around the room and saw a large console tucked between two pods. She made a b-line straight for it. That had to be the console they were looking for. She ran her hands over it, scanning the data streams flowing over the screen.

“ _Dammit_...” she grumbled after a moment.

“Looks like more Reaper code.” Garrus murmured at her shoulder before stepping in to take a closer look.

Shepard moved over to allow the turian to take control of the situation. He was the expert on Reaper tech, after all. She trusted him to break through that code. It took him ten minutes to crack it. The moment he did, the override warning flashed up before them.

“Legion, we've hit the override.” Shepard said to the geth.

“We have gained system access and are bypassing security. Stand by.” Legion stated cryptically.

“Oh... crap...” Garrus sighed in frustration as he dragged her to cover with him the second a bullet zinged by them. “More geth inbound.”

“How many more of these bastards are there?” Nana growled angrily as she fired her shotgun on one moving in close to her.

“All this...” Tali indicated the factor-like facility around them. “.. is designed to build more geth units.”

“Wonderful. So... a never ending supply. That's all you had to say, girl.” Nana grumbled as she took cover behind one of the pods.

The geth troopers were easy enough to destroy. The rocket launcher toting geth were not so easily taken out. They tended to fire their rockets with an aim on par with her turian sniper. It took every trick she could toss out to take them down and still remain intact herself.

“We have bypassed security, but disabling the blast door requires manual input. We have enabled a console near your position.” Legion explained a few minutes after the last geth went down.

Shepard realized he must be joined to the other geth somehow. She hoped those infected programs did not manage to sway him. The thought crossed her mind then that if there was ever a danger of that, it would have happened long ago. He already carried a fragment of the Reaper code somewhere within his programming. Still, he stood with the organics.

Looking over the console before her, Shepard realized this was not the console in question. She wanted to ask Legion why he had not enabled this one, but refrained from it. The reason was obvious. The geth would recognize manual input from the same console and shut it down. Alternating locations was the only way to prevent that.

Moving around the facility, she found it relatively quickly. It was only one of three large consoles in the entire factory. She motioned Garrus over to look it over before she even bothered with it. At his nod, she realized this too was Reaper code. It seemed Legion was hacking through that code with the assistance of his own encryption.

Garrus examined the console for a moment before running his three-fingered hands over it at mind blowing speed. He and Tali were better suited to handle the systems on Rannoch as they were geared toward their physical attributes.

A moment later, the entire place shook and an alarm sounded. Legion's voice came over the comm once more. “Shepard-Commander, you have successfully opened the blast shield doors.”

“Good. We'll be back out in a minute.” she let out a relieved breath.

“Negative. The path behind you has been sealed. A nearby elevator can take you to the upper level.” Legion instructed. “From there, you should have an acceptable line of sight for targeting.”

“You heard him, people. Let's get to that elevator and get this done.” Shepard grumbled as she spotted the elevator in question descending in the rear of the facility.

“What... the _hell_... is _that?!_ ” Nana snapped as the huge red geth stepped off the elevator and made its way toward the center of the facility.

“Geth Prime...” Garrus breathed in absolute frustration.

“And?” Nana asked, clearly having never seen one of those particular platforms.

“Double the trouble.” Tali stated as she launched her drone into the fray.

Garrus let out a pained hiss as one shot hit too close to home. Shepard's head whipped around to get a look at him. One finger of his right hand had slipped inside a decidedly melted hole in the rerebrace over his left bicep. A trickle of cobalt dribbled down toward his elbow. He held up a hand to stop her movement when he realized she was about to make her way to him.

“I'm fine, Shepard.” he drawled. It was a lie, she could hear it in his voice. She made to move toward him anyway and he cocked his rifle, taking aim around the corner at another geth. “I'm fine... just a flesh wound.”

Nodding, she realized the wound was not life threatening or there would be a good deal more blood. It still worried her. Somehow, one or both of them always seemed to come out of these things with minor wounds. She fervently hoped those wounds did not begin to grow in scope.

“Chikktika!” Tali gasped as the Prime took out her drone. Normally that would not be an issue since the drone was holographic in nature. The trouble came with the controls sparking and smoking on the quarian's forearm.

“That can't be good.” Shepard grumbled as she threw a shockwave out to destabilize the geth.

Nana followed her lead by tossing out a warp. Garrus took a few crack shots at key locations across the Prime's chassis. She was not sure which one of them scored the kill, but it eventually went down under the onslaught.

“We have sent you the NavPoint with the new targeting location.” came Legion's voice a moment later.

Shepard's omni-tool pinged before the get was finished speaking. She opened it and nodded to herself. The top of the facility, a few meters from the point they had first seen those blast doors closing. If those doors were open, it could definitely work. They were not going to get another shot at this and she knew it.

“Admiral Raan to all ships! The Patrol Fleet has broken the geth flank. Permission to pursue?” the quarian woman was clearly making a request.

“Granted. Good hunting, Raan!” Gerrel replied quickly.

Shepard nodded to herself. At least they seemed to be working well together... for now. They needed the quarians working together out there. They were needed to 'clear the road' for the Normandy to reach targeting distance.

Popping her pistol's heat sync, Shepard tossed the small unit to her bondmate. She slammed another heat sync in its place before he had even caught the other. Without a second glance at the facility behind her, she moved quickly toward that elevator. The four of them crammed onto it and she poked the button.

It was a short ride up to the next level. The trouble was the geth primes waiting for them. She noticed them at the same moment Tali called out her warning.

“Geth Primes! I guess they really don't want us up here!” Tali snapped as she took cover not far from the elevator.

Shepard moved to the right and darted for cover the second she saw the prime aiming for her. She staggered into cover a moment too late. The blast hit her with the force of a mule kick. A ragged gasp of pain tore out of her as electricity coursed through her body. It felt as if every circuit of her cybernetics was about to short out at once. Her entire body shook as she leaned against the column for support.

“Shepard!” Garrus sounded far off. She barely heard his yell as she sank down to the floor under the onslaught.

Shepard heard the prime moving in for the kill. It never came as the turian crossed in front of her and fired a quick succession of rounds into it from his sniper rifle. The second she heard the metallic thump of it hitting the floor, the turian was squatting before her.

“You alright?” he asked and jerked his hand back with a hiss as he touched her, an arc of electricity jumping between them.

Shepard blinked at him in confusion for a moment before reaching up and snatching her helmet off. It folded and slung against her back as she shook her head. It seemed to do the trick. Removing the helmet must have broken the circuit created between her armor and cybernetics.

After a few seconds, she nodded and put her hand cautiously on his forearm. No sparks, no jolt... she had been correct. A smile slipped across her face before she peeked around the corner again. “Must be my _shocking_ personality.”

“Funny...” Garrus grumbled, but there was no bite to his voice.

“You know you love it.” she whispered as she staggered to her feet with his help.

“Hmm... love of my life... even if you are a little crazy.” he snarked and darted off to the right to vault over a railing and tuck himself behind a stack of crates.

Shepard let out a faint chuckle at that. She slung a singularity out at the next prime she noticed with a snarky comment of her own. “Look who's calling the kettle black, lover.”

“I... uh... I... don't know what you talking about...” he hummed, sub-harmonics thrumming deeply even as he brought his assault rifle to bare on the prime in his sights.

“Whatever you say, _Gary_.” she laughed when his head snapped around to glare at her over that one.

“Oh... you _didn't_...” he growled as he fired another few rounds into the next prime that charged toward him. “Isn't that... your pet rat's name?”

“He's a _hamster_ and he's _cute_.” Shepard gave him that lopsided smile.


	95. That's No Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reaper base has proven to be an actual Reaper.

Shepard moved away from that column and stumbled toward a stack of crates. Her balance was shot to shit after that blast from the prime. She did a double take at something lying on a lower crate between two larger stacks.

Stepping back toward it, she ran her hand over the weapon. “Oh... what's this?”

Snatching the rifle up, she tucked herself between a couple of stacks of crates to look it over. It was definitely a geth design. The thing looked like some sort of energy weapon. Glancing around the corner, she spotted a prime not far off charging after Nana. It seemed the perfect test subject for her new toy.

Shepard leaned out with the rifle, took aim and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked hard into her shoulder and fired off a blitzing blast of rapid bolts. A shiver passed through her as she realized this was the very same kind of weapon that had sent shocks of electricity coursing through her. It did a number on the geth too.

“I think I like this thing.” she murmured to herself as the geth screeched and dropped.

The next prime went down just as quickly under the onslaught of that weapon. It was a game changer for sure, she realized and moved out of cover as the last one on her radar went down. She knew it would be minutes only before more poured in.

As if on queue, Legion's voice filtered through the joint comm channel. “Shepard-Commander, we detect no more geth in your immediate area. Reinforcements are minutes away.”

“You getting anything from the base?” she asked, realizing there should be something with the blast doors open again.

“No. The Old Machines have not registered us as a threat.” Legion stated. After a moment, he continued with a reminder. “We recommend haste. The creator fleet will be overrun unless you sever the geth connection with the Old Machines soon.”

“Does he ever stop? Reminding us of the obvious... like senile, feeble old things.” Nana grumbled as she moved in closer.

“Some of us _are_ old... Guess he's just taking that into consideration.” Shepard breathed quietly.

“Watch it, girl! I'm not too old to serve up your ass on a platter.” Nana growled.

“Riiiight.” Shepard let out a soft laugh as they moved on.

“This battle was centuries in the making. To see it finally end....” Tali said in awe as they moved toward the front of the facility.

“We'll get it done.” Garrus assured her as he moved toward Shepard's side.

“You're damn right we will.” Nana said as she nodded at the quarian. “I hope to see your people liberated before I finally meet my end. Seeing an unmasked quarian again...”

“You knew some of them before the Morning War?” Shepard asked as they continued.

“Oh yes, dear. Had a quarian lover once.” Nana sighed wistfully as she shifted her shotgun against her hip. “Lyla... ah.. but she was beautiful.”

Shepard stopped for a moment as they came out into the open. A flock of some kind of birds startled and flew off from the platform they were headed for. Birds; the first wildlife she had seen on Rannoch. The flap of wings and their very appearance reminded her of those from Earth. What else might this world hold in similarity?

Glancing toward the sky, she realized the sun was sinking ever so slowly toward the western horizon. This mission had dragged on nearly the entire day. It had been dawn when they first arrived. She was more than ready to tie this final loose end up and be done with it. Heading home to the Normandy was at the top of her to-do list in the next hour or so.

“Shepard... take this.” Garrus said, holding out the targeting laser as she approached the 'balcony' above the base.

Pulling her helmet on for the hud built into the lens, she accepted the unit. It was heavier than she had first thought it would be. She glanced at Garrus, an apology in her eyes at the weight. He merely shrugged it off as she hefted the device up to her shoulder. With a nod, she flicked a switch and it powered up.

“Normandy's weapons systems are synced to your target.” EDI's voice came across the comm the second the targeting screen flared up before her eyes. “I recommend you withdraw to a safe distance.”

“Yeah...” Shepard huffed as she looked down at the drop. “No chance of that.”

Stepping forward, she aimed the 'gun' toward the red glow of the base below. It hummed as she pulled and held the trigger to paint the target. That hum grew in intensity until the unit beeped, having locked onto the intended target.

“Target locked!” came EDI's sharp reply as the Normandy swooped in and cut loose two missiles.

The explosion was enormous. It rocked the entire facility and Shepard found it impossible to maintain her footing. She let out a yell as she pitched forward over the edge and fell. It was along way down and she was fairly certain she was heading for the bottom of the base. Twisting around, she locked her eyes to her bondmate. He had made it to the edge somehow through all the shaking.

The impact was hard and came sooner than she had expected. It tore a grunt of pain from her, ripping the breath from her lungs. She lay there stunned for several long seconds as she realized she must have hit the walkway thirty or so feet below. The realization struck her that she should still be dead from a fall of that height. She was not.

Shifting her legs, rolling her lower back, she realized the pain was tolerable. Nothing seemed broken. Her armor must have taken the worst of the impact. As the embers of the explosion continued to rain down, she sat up slowly. The ground shook, a roar that sounded like a Reaper erupted from the well of the base.

Climbing to her feet slowly, she turned and faced that well. Barely a heartbeat passed before a mechanical 'leg' extended from it. Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open as the pain was forgotten. Every muscle in her body bunched up to run.

“Oh my god...” Shepard breathed in disbelief. Her next word was a shout. “Reaper!”

“We have located transportation.” came Legion's voice just as some sort of vehicle roared out of one of the access points a few yards away.

“Copy that! Everybody get to the ship! Move!” Shepard yelled and bent down to snatched up that laser targeting device before taking off running toward the geth transport.

“ _Damn!_ That's big!” Garrus barked as he came racing out of the nearest access point on her level. The Reaper rising up out of the ground dwarfed them all.

“Move!” Shepard yelled, pushing herself harder.

“How are we supposed to fight that thing?!” Tali yelled over the roar of the Reaper.

“I was hoping your fleet might lend a hand.” Shepard said as her feet beat the metal plates of the walkway. She dodged back out of the way of a sweeping Reaper 'arm'. It embedded itself in the walkway before her.

Shepard wasted no time climbing up on that arm and praying the mechanical menace did not move it as she ran along it. She glanced back in time to see a geth unit activating in the middle of the walkway. That was the last thing they needed. There was no way they could fight those along with the metal monster ripping its way out of the ground.

“Go!” she bellowed, waving an arm at her team to cross under the shaking arm she stood on.

As Garrus drew near the geth, the synthetic made it up to it's knees. The turian rammed his combat knife into the back of it's chassis as he blew by it in a dead run. It went down, sparks flying behind him. Tali took a second to fire her pistol into it as she passed by. The scene was pure chaos.

The Reaper roared as she leaped off the shifting arm and ran for the geth transport. The others climbed inside, she climbed to the roof and stepped into the gun turret up top. This was the only way she could see to at least keep it at bay while they attempted to escape.

“We will attempt evasive maneuvers.” Legion announced as he hit the thrusters.

The vehicle lurched forward and Shepard clutched the turret in an effort to remain in position. As they raced out of the facility, the Reaper stomped toward them. She tracked it with the turret, attempting to get a lock on it.

“Shepard to Fleet! It's _not_ a Reaper base! It's a _live_ Reaper! I need an orbital strike!” Shepard yelled into the comm as they raced ahead of the moving mechanical mountain. The second they had a little more distance, she gave the order. “ _We're clear! Fire at will!_ ”

The blast was almost instantaneous and blinding. She ducked behind the turret's shield, covering her eyes. It knocked the Reaper sideways, but did not stop it. Electrical surges rolled across its form as it steadied itself and continued charging after them. It shuddered with the first step and fell over.

“What do we hit?” came Gerrel's frantic voice.

“The firing chamber! Looks like a weak point when it's priming!” Shepard barked as she brought the turret to bare on the downed Reaper.

“Dammit!” Gerrel breathed, the frustration clear in his voice. “Their jamming towers have us targeting manually. We can't make a precision shot like that!”

“We may escape before it recovers.” Legion said, ever a calm voice amidst the chaos.

“No! Pull over!” Shepard shouted.

“ _Shepard!_ _What are you doing?_ You _can't_... face that thing... _alone!_ ” Garrus growled through the comm. From the grunt in his voice, she was fairly certain someone must be restraining him.

“Shepard-Commander?” Legion's voice held a question as the transport stopped.

Shepard dropped the ten feet to the ground, catching herself with a hand to distribute the impact. Straightening, she turned back toward the transport with a nod to herself. This was the only way. That thing was just going to keep chasing them. The orbital strike would continue to be ineffective without a target lock.

“If we run away, the geth stay under Reaper control...” she turned back to look at the struggling Reaper a few meters away. “...and the quarians are dead. This ends now!”

Taking a few steps away from the transport, she shifted and pulled that heavy laser targeting unit from her back. She hefted it and moved off toward the Reaper. Determination and adrenaline mingled to straighten her back in defiance. _I'm done running from these bastards_.

“EDI, patch the quarians to the Normandy's weapons system. I want the targeting laser synced up with the whole damn fleet.” she growled into the comm.

“Understood.” came the simple reply from the Normandy's AI.

“Do you need assistance?” Legion asked.

“Stay down, Legion.” Shepard barked. She did not expect to survive this encounter.

“ _Dammit! Let me out! I should be out there!_ ” Garrus was raging in the background, his voice deepening with every yell. The commander heard him pounding on the vehicle's hatch.

“ _Get my team out of here!_ ” she snapped the order, knowing full well that if Legion did not leave now, Garrus would find a way to get out of that vehicle. He would get himself killed and she would not allow that. “I'll take it from here...”

“Shepard-Commander... Good luck.” Legion stated before pulling the vehicle out of the direct line of fire.

“Acknowledged.” she said softly and closed her eyes against the sounds of the keening turian raging across the comm. With a ragged breath, she cut her comm link off from her team, and switched to the open comm between ships. “Shepard to Fleet. I'll paint the weak spot. Link up with the Normandy and be ready to fire!”

The Reaper was back on its feet as she moved toward it. She ignored the vehicle racing away behind her. Hefting that targeting device up to her shoulder, she locked on the Reaper's firing chamber as it advanced on her.

“Well... this was a good idea.” she murmured to herself. Her tone screaming it was anything but as she took a deep breath.

“The destroyer is in range. Missiles are ready for launch.” EDI stated, clearly at the ready.

The Reaper drew closer. The targeting display linked to the laser brought the beams together across her helmet's hud. The device let out a shrill beep and a barrage of fire hit the Reaper. It was not enough. The mechanical monster staggered and kept coming.

Shepard waited, growling softly. “Come on, you big bastard! Just a little closer!”

The firing chamber opened again and it let loose a red beam in her direction. She was force to roll away from it as it ripped up the ground where she had been. It was going to be close, she knew it was. This thing was going down even if it took her with it.

Lining up the shot, she painted the target again. The worst part was the wait. The Reaper had her targeted as well. It fired as she held the trigger, maintaining her own target. She barely managed to dodge out of the way of that beam just as the Reaper staggered again under the attack from space. Still, it was ineffective.

Shepard nodded to herself and took a breath. It had to be closer. The targeting system was not getting the best lock due to the distance. She dug her heels in and waited. It would fire, she would dodge, but it would draw in close enough to get a clean shot. That was the only plan she had left.

Things slowed down to a crawl, or maybe that was just her mind playing tricks on her. The Reaper towered over her in a matter of minutes. The firing chamber opened and the red glow of that beam began to build as she looked up into it. She imagined that might be what looking into hell was like as it lowered toward her. The targeting unit rested against her shoulder as she held that trigger down.

One breath, two... the beam grew in intensity, blooming out toward her. This was it. There was no way she was walking away from this. The Reaper would vaporize her before the targeting device pinpointed it. Red arcs of electricity sizzled around that firing chamber so bright they hurt her eyes. The beam bloomed nearly to bursting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've come to the end of part four. Part five will follow through to the final push and the firing of the Crucible. It doesn't end there, however. A completely original post-war narrative is in the outline stage. Hold onto your butts, it's not over yet.


End file.
